Sleep Apnea for Dentists: An Overview of Signs, Symptoms, Consequences, and Treatment

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a stoppage or partial stoppage of air flow during sleep has been gaining more attention as a Sleep Related Breathing Disorder. This treatable syndrome has many associated co-morbidities that can have severely detrimental effects on a person’s well being and general health. It has been estimated that 20% or more of the population suffers from some level of OSA, many of those are undiagnosed or unaware of their issue. Though a diagnosis must be made by a medical doctor, the dental community can be a first line of defense to screen and even treat many of these people with Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT). OAT has become a popular alternative for treating OSA for those intolerant to the traditional Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine. This course will give dental professionals a high level overview of obstructive sleep apnea, consequences and treatment options including oral appliance therapy and how the clinicians can become involved in the treatment of OSA. As dentists, we are trained to exam patients’ teeth, gums, and other surrounding oral structures. What if, as a dental professional, you could be instrumental in helping in the detection of a potentially life threatening disorder known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)? This treatable disorder affects as many as 20% of the population and the majority of those affected are undiagnosed. These people are in our practices every day and we have the ability to quickly detect and screen them for OSA during a regular recall exam. In an average dental practice with 2000 patients there could be as many as 400 patients that have some form of OSA. As with oral cancer and hypertension, we can be a first line of defense to help these patients seek a diagnosis and even collaborate with their physician in their treatment. So what exactly is sleep apnea? Apnea is a term that means “without breath.” OSA can be characterized by an actual stopping of breathing during sleep due to the complete (apnea) or partial (hypopnea) collapse of the upper airway. This obstruction and collapse can occur somewhere between the nasal turbinates down to the level of the vocal cords; however, the most common area for the collapse to occur is the oropharynx , which runs from the hard palate to the tip of the uvula1 (Figures 1a -1c). There are 3 kinds of sleep apnea: 1.) Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is characterized by repetitive episodes of complete (apnea) or partial (hypopnea) upper airway obstruction during sleep. OSA is the most common form of sleep apnea. 2.) Central Sleep Apnea is not obstructive in nature, The pharynx, a common passageway for solid food, liquids, and air