The attitudes of general dental practitioners and medical specialists to the provision of intra–oral appliances for the management of snoring and sleep apnoea

Knowledge of Obstructive Sleep Apnea among Dental Fraternity in Riyadhof OSA (Ostructive Sleep Apnea ) among dental fraternity in Riyadh

“…Untreated OSA can cause many medical problems such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cognitive dysfunction and depression [4]. It leads to tiredness, anxiety, depression, daytime sleepiness, also with increased risk of motor vehicle accidents and impairment of function in those who have it [2], [3], [4], [5]. The snoring noise can cause serious marital and social problems as well.…”

Obstructive sleep apnoea and the need for its introduction into dental curricula

“…Dental practitioners may be reluctant to engage in management of OSA due to concerns of litigation and malpractice (15), as they report a lack of adequate training in the screening for OSA and its subsequent management in providing OAs (86,93,94). The training that is currently available is mainly derived from courses offered by OA manufacturers, scientific meetings and information garnered from the literature (94,95).…”

“…Many patients may not recognise or appreciate the role of dentistry in OSA. Therefore, patients may fail to report their signs and symptoms associated with this disorder or knowledge of their diagnosis to their dental practitioner . However, dental practitioners have the opportunity to inquire about the possibility of OSA and to examine the entrance to the nasopharyngeal area in addition to routine investigation of oro‐dental hard and soft tissues .…”

“…This is especially important for patients with systemic conditions such as cardiovascular, respiratory, cognitive and endocrine (type 2 diabetes mellitus) disorders . Clearly, collaboration between medical and dental practitioners is vital for screening, diagnosis, management and follow‐up of OSA .…”

The Kushida Index as a screening tool for obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome

“…10 However, one screening method that showed potential, with a sensitivity of 97.6% and a specificity of 100%, was published by Kushida et al in 1997. 11 Bearing in mind that the role of dentists in the management of patients with OSAHS has become more established over the last decade, [12][13][14][15][16][17] the Kushida Index appears to be a simple screening tool that could be used by dentists in general dental practice to screen those patients with a suspicion of OSAHS.…”