Sleep Apnoea – Ask your dentist for help

Did you know that Dental practitioners are in an excellent position to screen for sleep apnoea? They can help identify these undiagnosed, and therefore, untreated obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)patients because they:

• have direct observational access to the physiological structures of their patients’ upper airways

• are already screening chairside for other health conditions that can be easily spotted during a dental visit

• may see these patients more frequently than primary care physicians will, with nearly one quarter more likely to see a dentist than a doctor over any given time period

Patients stand to gain from OSA screening, especially with dental-related treatments for sleep breathing disorders gaining ground. Maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) devices and other forms of oral appliance therapy (OAT) have been recently accepted as first-line treatments for sleep apnoea, as well as upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) and chronic snoring. The AASM and the AADSM made joint recommendations last year showing support for OAT approaches. Oral appliances have been shown to be just as effective as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy in treating sleep apnoea and leading to healthy patient outcomes.

Dental patients also stand to benefit from having this assessment from an oral health perspective, which is good news for dentists; sleep apnoea is also commonly associated with the following dental concerns:

• bruxism

• gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

• oral breathing

• periodontal disease and TMJ dysfunction

Find out more by visiting our dedicated page:

Snoring / Sleep Apnoea

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