Sleep Medicine Content in Dental Hygiene Education

Dental sleep medicine education among undergraduate dental students in France

INTRODUCTION

Dental sleep medicine (DSM) is an emerging discipline that studies the oral and maxillofacial causes and consequences of sleep-related problems. DSM is of upmost importance given the major medical challenge it represents. Therefore, to verify whether the future generation of dentists would be ready to face this challenge, the main objective of this study was to assess the degree of involvement of the French dental schools in teaching DSM at the undergraduate level.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All 16 dental schools in France were asked to participate in the study by answering to an online survey concerning the DSM curriculum during the 2018-2019 academic year. The survey was addressed to the head of the dental school and/or to relevant course coordinators and contained 10 questions related to the type, content and amount of DSM teaching to undergraduate dental students.

RESULTS

Nine of the 16 (56.2%) French dental schools responded to the questionnaire. All these nine reported the inclusion of DSM in their undergraduate curriculum. The total average hours dedicated to teaching DSM was 5.6 h (SD 4.2; range 1-15 h). Seven of the 9 dental schools spent most of their DSM curriculum teaching time in the fifth year. All of them reviewed obstructive sleep apnoea and sleep-related bruxism and covered some topics related to therapies for sleep-related breathing disorders, such as the use of oral appliance.

CONCLUSION

The results of this survey showed that, although the average hourly volume is relatively high, the DSM teaching in French dental schools appeared to be non-standardised, heterogeneous and often lacunar. It is therefore essential to develop a common curriculum and implement it in all dental schools to provide undergraduate students a comprehensive and updated teaching in DSM.

Reliability of STOP-Bang questionnaire and pulse oximetry as predictors of OSA - a retrospective study

OBJECTIVE

To verify the reliability of a STOP-Bang questionnaire and objective blood oxygen concentration (SpO2) estimation by pulse oximetry as an indicator of patients' vulnerability to OSA, by correlating data of these two tests with that of the "gold standard" all-night polysomnography.

METHODS

STOP-Bang score and pulse oximetry value (SpO2) for each patient were tabulated against the total sleep AHI score (obtained from subsequent all-night polysomnography) and analyzed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the STOP-Bang questionnaire and pulse oximetry.

RESULTS

With sensitivity and specificity scores of 91.2% and 88.6%, respectively, positive predictive value 90.5%, negative predictive value 40.2%, the twin diagnostic test (STOP-Bang and pulse oximetry) was found to be highly congruent with the polysomnography (PSG), achieving a diagnostic accuracy of 85%.

CONCLUSION

Dental chairside screening by STOP-Bang questionnaire and pulse oximetry would be a good option, especially where logistic and economic constraints impede all-night polysomnography.

Oral appliance therapy in obstructive sleep apnea and snoring - systematic review and new directions of development

Objective: Oral appliance therapy is a non-invasive treatment that offers a wide variety of oral devices for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The present review focuses on the effectiveness of mandibular advancement devices for the treatment of OSA. Methods: A systematic review based on the PRISMA checklist was carried out. A detailed electronic database search was conducted using "Obstructive sleep apnea" AND "Oral appliance" AND "Dentistry" as keywords. Results: The initial search in the electronic databases resulted in a total of 262 papers. After the title and abstract analysis and full-text review, the number of eligible papers was reduced to 15. Conclusion: The mandibular advancement device is an effective treatment, improving the Apnea Hypopnea Index and the symptoms of patients with OSA in 92% of the subjects from all the investigated studies. The future may include the integration of a biosensor for the diagnosis and follow-up. Abbreviations: OSA: Obstructive sleep apnea; MADs: Mandibular advancement devices; CPAP: Continuous positive airway pressure; OAT: Oral appliance therapy; MRD: Mandibular repositioning devices; MAS: Mandibular advancement splints; MAA: Mandibular advancement appliances; OA: Oral appliances; AASM: American Academy of Sleep Medicine; AHI: Apnea-hypopnea index; EEG: Sleep-related breathing disorder SRBD; Electroencephalogram; EOG: Electrooculogram; ECG: Electrocardiogram; QOL: Quality of life; TMJ: Temporomandibular joint.