Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
The diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a field of emerging interest to a wide variety of professionals, including dentists. OSAS is now widely recognized as a common clinical disorder with potentially life-threatening consequences. The syndrome is characterized by repeated episodes of upper airway obstruction during sleep. The most prominent clinical manifestations are loud snoring during sleep and daytime hypersomnelence. Bypassing the area of obstruction with a tracheostomy results in an improvement in clinical symptoms. The dentist's role may be to fit a simple mechanical device for anterior repositioning of the mandible, which recently has been introduced as a less invasive mode of treatment, when the cause is functional rather than anatomical.