Obstructive sleep apnoea and periodontitis: a novel association?

Purpose Since both obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) andperiodontitis are associated with systemic inflammation andcardiovascular morbidity, we questioned whether there maybe an association between these two disorders.Materials and methods A standard periodontal examinationwas undertaken in a group of 66 (54 men and 12 women)treatment-naïve patients diagnosed with OSA [apnoea'hypopnoea index (AHI) >5/h] to derive a number ofquantitative variables which could then be used to determinethe prevalence of periodontitis in a group of patients.Results The prevalence of periodontitis in our study groupwas 77'79%, depending on the definition used. This wasalmost four times that of historical controls derived from arecent national survey. When sleep-related variables werecompared against periodontal variables, significant correlationswere found between periodontal clinical attachmentlevel and total sleep time.Conclusion Our pilot study suggests that OSA is associatedwith periodontitis. Further research is needed to elucidatethe nature of this association.