Cephalometric and Dental Measures as Diagnostic Tools for the Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Background: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a breathing disorder that could be associated with craniofacial and dental phenotype. Objective: To identify features of craniofacial and dental phenotype associated with high suspicion of OSA in adults.

Methods: Lateral X-ray and dental casts were acquired from 126 adults (77 females and 49 males). Sleep Questionnaires were applied to identify high suspicion of OSA. Questionnaires answers for each subject were correlated with cephalometric and dental cast measures.

Results: Suspicion of OSA was observed in 47.6% of the individuals. Bivariate analysis showed that patients with class II malocclusion have more probability to present OSA (OR=2.5; CI: 1.11 - 6.19; p=0.048) while skeletal class I patients having a 60% less chance of presenting suspicion of OSA (OR=0.4; CI: 0.14-1.07; p=0.045).

Conclusions: These findings suggest association between Class II malocclusion and suspicion of OSA. Nevertheless, further research is needed to determine which craniofacial and dental phenotypic features contribute to the development of OSA.