Relationship between periodontal disease and obstructive sleep apnea in adults: A systematic review

The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate whether there are scientific evidence regardingthe association between periodontitis and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults. An electronicsearch was performed on MEDLINE/PubMed for prospective and retrospective longitudinal studies,cohort studies, and case –control studies conducted in human adults affected by both OSA andperiodontitis. Two reviewers extracted the data using a custom Excel spreadsheet. A methodologicalassessment of the quality of the studies was performed using the Newcastle –Ottawa Scale. Fourteenstudies were included. All studies evaluated the association between periodontitis and OSA. Noneof the studies evaluated the cause –effect relationship. Eleven studies found a significant positiverelationship between periodontitis and OSA, whereas three found no statistically significantassociation. Several study limitations were observed, such as lack of standardization of studygroups, diagnosis of periodontitis and OSA, and differences in study design. Evidence of a plausibleassociation between periodontitis and OSA was found. The possible relationship could be explainedby systemic inflammation, oral breathing, and the comorbid relationship attributable to commonrisk factors. Observational and randomized controlled studies are needed to clarify the mechanismof interaction between the two conditions.Key Words: Obstructive sleep apnea, periodontitis, review, sleep medicine
Source: Dental Research Journal - Category: Dentistry Source Type: research