Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Prosthodontist’s Viewpoint

Abstract

Short sleep duration and poor quality of sleep, increasingly common in our modern society, have many adverse effects on general health. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disorder in which a person frequently stops breathing during his or her sleep. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is the average number of disordered breathing events per hour. OSA syndrome is defined as an AHI of 5 or greater with associated symptoms (e.g.: excessive daytime sleepiness, fatigue, or impaired cognition) or an AHI of 15 or greater, regardless of associated symptoms.