Are periodontal diseases associated with sleep duration or sleep quality? A systematic review.

Objectives: This study aimed to systematically review the associations between periodontal diseases/tooth loss and sleep duration/quality.

Material And Methods: PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases were searched (up to May 2021) to identify studies that assessed the association between periodontal diseases or number of teeth with sleep quality and sleep duration. Two researchers independently selected the studies and extracted the data. Considering the high heterogeneity among the included studies, meta-analysis was deemed unviable. Results are presented descriptively for sleep quality (studies that have used PSQI), self-reported sleep hours, and other tools that assessed sleep patterns.

Results: Twenty studies (16 cross-sectional, two case-control, and two cohort) were included. Eight studies used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess quality of sleep. Six of these studies demonstrated that individuals with worse periodontal conditions demonstrated poorer sleep quality. However, most of the included studies that performed adjusted analysis showed no statistically significant association between self-reported hours of sleep and periodontitis. The mean number of present teeth was assessed in four studies; three of them demonstrated lower numbers of present teeth in individuals with inadequate sleep.

Conclusion: The literature shows conflicting results for the association between sleep hours and periodontitis. However, inadequate sleep may be associated with lower number of present teeth and periodontal diseases. Further studies are necessary in order to confirm these results.