Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS): The Key Role of the Dentist in the Management of a Potentially Lifethreatening Condition

Abstract

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) is a chronic nocturnal respiratory disorder associated to excessive daytime sleepiness. It’s a potentially life-threatening condition. If left untreated it’s at high risk for comorbidities, such as cardiometabolic complications and neurocognitive sequelae, as well as road and workplace accidents. For this reason, OSAS has an adverse impact on economic systems: direct costs, which are the health costs necessary for diagnosis and treatment of the disorder and its correlated medical consequences and for recourse to hospital admissions, and indirect, or social, costs due to a decrease in work productivity and an increase of permanent disabilities resulting from road and workplace accidents. These patients can obtain a better quality of life only from an adequate management of the disorder and, consequently, the whole society will enjoy the benefits. This article focuses on the most relevant social and medicallegal issues correlated to OSAS and highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach wherein the dentist can play a significant prevention, diagnostic and treatment role.