Diagnosing sleep apnea in dental patients

Airway dilator or oral appliance therapy has been recommended with behavioral methods as treatment for patients with primary snoring or mild sleep apnea, unless there are patient-specific contraindications. Airway dilator therapy therefore may be a preferred treatment for patients with mild sleepiness and with fewer than 15 episodes of sleep disordered breathing per hour. The dentist's main diagnostic concern is to separate those patients with moderate or severe sleep apnea, who should be referred to a medical specialist for treatment, from those patients with primary snoring or mild sleep apnea, whom the dentist may treat primarily. Diagnostic tests including clinical predictions formulas, polysomnography, cardiorespiratory sleep studies, and oximetry will be discussed in this review.