The Role of Dental Hygienists in Addressing Sleep Breathing Disorders

By Valerie Cuzella, RDH, BAS, Mary-Catherine Dean, RDH, MS

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep breathing disorder characterized by severe hypoxia, or periods when an individual does not get enough oxygen during sleep.¹ Upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) is classified beneath the umbrella of OSA syndrome.² The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is a scale used to classify OSA severity based on the number of oxygen desaturations per hour during an overnight sleep study.³

* References can be found in the original article via the link below.
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