Opportunity for Interprofessional Collaboration: Screening for Pediatric Sleep-Disordered Breathing by Dentists

This study's purpose was to examine the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of sleep-disordered breathing in children receiving care at health center dental clinics. Data were collected from the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire and the health records for two- to 18-year-old children at health centers located in seven states. Subjects included 1,000 children (46.3 percent female, 53 percent Hispanic, 70.7 percent white), with mean (± standard deviation) age of 6.89±2.51. Of the sample, 11.9 percent had a Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire score of at least eight. On multiple logistic mixed-effect analysis, age, American Society of Anesthesiology status, anterior overjet, attention deficit hyper-activity disorder, and obesity were significant predictors of the presence of a Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire score of at least eight at a significance level of P=0.05. With 11.9 percent of the subjects at risk for sleep-disordered breathing conditions, dentists have an opportunity for interprofessional collaboration with primary and specialist physicians. Dentists should routinely screen children with the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire tool, cross-reference-associated clinical indicators (such as age, American Society of Anesthesiology status, anterior overjet, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and obesity), optimize orofacial growth and development, and refer to and coordinate with physicians to manage high-risk children.