[Effects of wearing dentures on sleep breathing among edentulous people: a preliminary study]

To investigate the effects of wearing dentures on sleep breathing among edentulous people.

Nine edentulous people were recruited to participate in this selfcontrolled case series clinical study. Polysomnogram (PSG) was carried out on two consecutive nights, on one night the patients slept wearing dentures, and on the other without dentures. The indexes such as apnea and hypopnea index (AHI), L-SpO2, and morning blood pressure etc. were compared.

Among the nine edentulous people, eight showed a higher AHI when they slept with dentures, and only one showed a lower AHI. The average AHI of the nine edentulous people was 8.82 without dentures and 11.72 with dentures, which meant that AHI was significantly higher when the edentulous people slept with dentures in their mouths (P<0.05). While no significant differences were found in the score of L-SpO2 and morning blood pressures (P>0.05).

Wearing dentures might lead to an increase of AHI during sleep among edentulous people.