Will wearing dentures affect edentulous patients' breathing during sleep?

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of wearing dentures on obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea among completely edentulous patients. A self-controlled study was conducted among 30 edentulous patients. Polysomnograms were recorded in the sleep laboratory on two consecutive nights. Participants slept with their dentures in one night and without dentures in the other. The apnea and hypopnea index (AHI), lowest oxygen saturation (L-SpO2), and morning blood pressure (MBP) were collected for statistical analysis. Among the edentulous participants, 24 showed a higher AHI when sleeping with dentures. The average AHI for all 30 participants was significantly higher when they slept with dentures than without dentures (16.3±14.7 vs 13.4±14.0/h, P<0.05). Participants in the non-obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (non-OSAHS) subgroup (AHI <5 when sleeping without dentures) had a significant increase in AHI when sleeping with dentures, and nearly half of them (5 out of 11) reached the diagnostic standard for OSAHS (AHI >5). A higher morning diastolic blood pressure was recorded when participants slept with dentures (P<0.05), while no significant difference was found in the L-SpO2 score and morning systolic blood pressure. Wearing dentures can lead to significant increase of AHI and diastolic MBP among edentulous people. Hence, we suggest that Chinese edentulous people should remove their dentures before sleep. ChiCTR-IOR-16008404.