Unstable periodontal disease and its association with sleep-disordered breathing.

Periodontal therapy results in successful disease management for some patients, but patients whose periodontal disease cannot be managed with standard-of-care protocols are treated repeatedly without success. For this set of patients, a systemic rather than an oral origin is possible. This clinical study investigated the connection between unresolved periodontal disease and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in 71 patients (44 women and 27 men), aged 19 to 75 years (mean, 45 years), who were enrolled in periodontal maintenance therapy for Stage I or II periodontitis.