We evaluated the association between sleep duration, dental caries, and periodontitis by using representative nationwide data. We examined 8,356 subjects aged ≥19 years who participated in the sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013∼2014). Sleep duration were grouped into ≤5, 6, 7, 8, and ≥9 hours. Presence of dental caries was defined as caries in ≥1 permanent tooth on dental examination. Periodontal status was assessed by using the community periodontal index (CPI), and a CPI code of ≥3 was defined as periodontitis. A chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to determine statistical significance. Model 1 was adjusted for age and sex, model 2 for household income, educational level, and marital status plus model 1, and model 3 for smoking status, alcohol consumption, blood pressure level, fasting blood glucose level, total cholesterol level, and body mass index plus model 2. The prevalence of dental caries according to sleep duration showed a U-shaped curve of 33.4%, 29.4%, 28.4%, 29.4%, and 31.8% with ≤5, 6, 7, 8, and ≥9 hours of sleep, respectively. In the fully adjusted model 3, the risk of developing dental caries was significantly higher with ≤5 than with 7 hours of sleep (odds ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.06∼ 1.43). The prevalence of periodontitis according to sleep duration showed a U-shaped curve of 34.4%, 28.6%, 28.1%, 31.3%, and 32.5%, respectively. The risk of periodontitis was significantly higher with ≥9 than with 7 hours of sleep in models 1 and 2, whereas the significant association disappeared in model 3. In a nationally representative sample, sleep duration was significantly associated with dental caries formation and weakly associated with periodontitis. Adequate sleep is required to prevent oral diseases such as dental caries and periodontitis.
