IADR Abstract Archives
Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Mouth-Breathing
Objectives: To assess the association between self-reported symptoms of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and clinical signs in mouth breathing (MB) children.
Methods: 73 MB children aged 7-14 years answered an interview questionnaire on OSA symptoms in childhood, focusing on chewing, nasal and sleep disturbances. MB children were checked for changes on the craniofacial, occlusion, TMJ, upper airway and body posture by a multi-disciplinary team, consisting of medical residents, dental and psychology postgraduate students. Multiple logistic regression analysis verified the association between clinical signs and self-reported symptoms.
Results: Reported symptoms of chewing disturbance as TMD noise, muscle pain and morning headache were significantly associated with the presence of lip incompetence and Class II malocclusion. Sleep disturbances as snoring, waking up at night, daytime sleepiness and sleeping with the mouth open were significantly associated with the presence of hypertrophic tonsils and obstructive Mallampati score.
Conclusions: Symptoms of pediatric OSA and clinical signs of mouth-breathing were significantly associated, which should be carefully investigated in order to prevent OSA in the future.
Methods: 73 MB children aged 7-14 years answered an interview questionnaire on OSA symptoms in childhood, focusing on chewing, nasal and sleep disturbances. MB children were checked for changes on the craniofacial, occlusion, TMJ, upper airway and body posture by a multi-disciplinary team, consisting of medical residents, dental and psychology postgraduate students. Multiple logistic regression analysis verified the association between clinical signs and self-reported symptoms.
Results: Reported symptoms of chewing disturbance as TMD noise, muscle pain and morning headache were significantly associated with the presence of lip incompetence and Class II malocclusion. Sleep disturbances as snoring, waking up at night, daytime sleepiness and sleeping with the mouth open were significantly associated with the presence of hypertrophic tonsils and obstructive Mallampati score.
Conclusions: Symptoms of pediatric OSA and clinical signs of mouth-breathing were significantly associated, which should be carefully investigated in order to prevent OSA in the future.
