Airway-focused dentistry – Hype versus truth

Abstract

Dental sleep medicine (DSM) is an emerging subspecialty in dentistry. Many dentists are adopting it in clinical practice to screen for and treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The value of evidence-based medicine for OSA, oral appliance treatment, and good collaboration with sleep medicine physicians in sleep disorder care is important for all dentists who practice DSM. This article aims to assess the “hype” and “truth” in the arena of DSM from contemporary literature. DSM is a science with rapidly expanding body of information that is dynamically evolving and can challenge previously accepted concepts.