title: Obstructive sleep apnoea and the need for its introduction into dental curricula.
abstract: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a major health problem which causes blood oxygen desaturation that may initiate a cascade of events via inflammatory cytokines and adrenocorticotrophic hormone that may have impact upon quality of life and lead to potential life-threatening events. Even though OSA affects an increasing number of individuals, the role of dental practitioners in recognition, screening and management has not developed accordingly. The goal of this article was to provide updated information to dental practitioners on pathophysiology, consequences and treatment options of OSA with a focused discussion on oral appliance (OA) therapy, as this topic is not routinely included in current dental curricula of many dental schools. Additionally, we present a template dental curriculum for predoctoral and/or postdoctoral students in education regarding sleep disordered breathing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Ege University School of Dentistry, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Güneri
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Ege University School of Dentistry, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: İlhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Ege University School of Dentistry, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Çal
authors.affiliation: Division of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery City of Hope National Medical Center, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry, Louisiana State University, New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Klasser
mesh_terms: D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; D003479:Curriculum; D003815:Dentists; D004497:Education, Dental; D006801:Humans; D024382:Professional Role; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: dental curricula; obstructive sleep apnoea; sleep disordered breathing; treatment options