Impact of soft palate visibility and tongue position on early diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea among patients with tooth loss - An observational preliminary study.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was estimated to affect 15% to 30% of males and 5% to 15% of females with prevalence increasing with progressive tooth loss and its early identification can reduce the sequalae of OSA. Apnea-hypopnea index is confirmatory but unsuitable for clinical settings to detect OSA and concise screening tools are required to detect OSA in edentulous patients.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of soft palate visibility and tongue position on incidence of OSA among edentulous patients.

Methodology: Thirty two edentulous participants aged between 30 and 65 years were grouped as partially edentulous (PE) and completely edentulous (CE). STOP-BANG Questionnaire (SBQ) was used to assess the scores in OSA risk factors. Mallampati score assessed soft palate visibility. Wright's Classification graded tongue position. Spearmann test evaluated the correlation between the soft palate visibility and tongue position on the OSA scores. Mann-Whitney U test evaluated influence of tooth loss and gender on OSA scores.

Results: Positive correlation existed between Mallampati scores, Wright's classification and OSA scores (p < .05). CE participants and male participants had more OSA scores at (p < .05) and (p < .01).

Conclusions: SBQ and Mallampati score can assist in chairside screening of OSA. Early screening for OSA in edentulous patients will direct for early intervention and prevent unforeseen sequalae.