Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome does not negatively affect oral and dental health.

OBJECTIVE

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome can lead to unhealthy open-mouth breathing. We investigated the possible relationship between obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome and dental health. We also evaluated other clinical factors that may affect oral health.

METHODS

We measured sleep using polysomnography and determined the apnoea-hypopnoea index for a total of 291 patients. We also recorded the demographic data, duration of snoring complaints, educational status and income levels for our patient cohort; finally, we calculated the decayed, missing and filled teeth index.

RESULTS

Forty-one patients presented with primary snoring (control group) and 250 patients (study group) presented with mild, moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. We found no correlation between obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome severity and the decayed, missing and filled teeth index (p = 0.057). We also found no correlation between the apnoea-hypopnoea and decayed, missing and filled teeth indexes. Age and the duration of snoring complaints were positively correlated with the decayed, missing and filled teeth index while educational status and income levels were negatively correlated (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome does not negatively affect oral and dental health.