Hyposalivation is prevalent in younger adults, among whom it is associated with diagnosed disease and high BMI, while after age 50 years it is associated with medication. It is also associated with gender and with fewer remaining teeth.
The objective of this study was to compare the effect of two different degrees of mandibular advancement (MA), 75% versus 50%, on somnographic variables after 6 months of dental appliance treatment in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). A further purpose was to compare the number of adverse events on the stomatognathic system and the effects of dental appliance treatment on the presence of daytime sleepiness. Eighty-six males with severe OSA (apnea index > or = 20) were randomly allocated to either 75% or 50% MA. Forty patients in the 75% MA group and 37 patients in the 50% MA group completed the 6-month follow-up. The effectiveness of treatment in terms of normalization (apnea index < 5 and apnea/hypopnea index < 10) with 75% MA was 52%, which was significantly higher (p = 0.04) than the 31% achieved with 50% MA. The dental appliance had few adverse events on the stomatognathic system regardless of group, and the number of adverse events did not differ between the two groups. Finally, the mean value of Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores decreased significantly from 11.6 at baseline to 8.0 at follow-up (p < 0.001). No significant difference was observed between the two groups. The results indicate that a dental appliance could be an alternative treatment for some patients with severe OSA.
BackgroundThe aims of this study were to determine self-rated oral health and dental attendance habits among Swedish adults, with special reference to the role of social inequalities, after the Swedish dental care reform in 2008.MethodsThe study is based on a survey questionnaire, sent to 12,235 residents of a Swedish county, in 2012. The age group was 16–84 years: 5,999 (49%) responded. Using chi-square statistics, differences in prevalence of self-rated oral health and regular dental attendance were analysed with respect to gender, age, educational level, family status, employment status and country of birth. Self-rated poor oral health was analysed by multivarite logistic regression adjusting for the different socio-demographic factors, financial security and having refrained from dental treatment for financial reasons.ResultsThree out of four respondents (75%) reported fairly good or very good oral health. Almost 90% claimed to be regular dental attenders. Those who were financially secure reported better oral health. The differences in oral health between those with a cash margin and those without were large whereas the differences between age groups were rather small. About 8% reported that they had refrained from dental treatment for financial reasons during the last three months. Self-rated poor oral health was most common among the unemployed, those on disability pension or on long-term sick leave, those born outside the Nordic countries and those with no cash margin (odds ratios ranging from 2.4 to 4.4). The most important factor contributing to these differences was having refrained from dental treatment for financial reasons.ConclusionThe results are relevant to strategies intended to reduce social inequalities in oral health, affirming the importance of the provision of equitable access to dental care.
In patients with OSA and hypertension, OA treatment had a modest trend toward effect on reducing BP. A stronger trend toward treatment effect was seen after excluding patients with normal baseline ambulatory BP. Additional exclusion of patients with baseline AHI ≤15 showed a significant treatment effect. Data to inform sample size for an adequately powered randomized study are provided.
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