The interface between dentistry and respiratory sleep disorders in children

OBJECTIVE: To study the incidence of mouth breathing and its association with sleep disorders, dental caries, malocclusion and deleterious oral habits, in children. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 152 children (6 to 9 years), of both genders, were invited to perform clinical evaluation of the oral cavity and the application of the OSA-18. RESULTS: 89 presented mouth breathing (MB), being 45% with malocclusion, 56% with dental caries, 38% with tooth loss, 51% with bruxism and 52% with the habit of sucking finger or pacifier, compared to 40%, 40%, 21%, 27% and 43%, respectively, in the 63 children with nasal breathing (NB). 35 MB showed moderate to high risk for OSAS, while only 8 of the children showed moderate risk. The average score of OSA-18 was 50 (MB:57/NB:40), with 29 (19%) children showing moderate risk. Among these, 74% presented mouth breathing, 26% malocclusion, 61% dental caries, 35% tooth loss, 42% bruxism and 55% sucked finger or pacifier, and in the 14 (9%) with high risk, they were 100%, 75%, 58%, 50%, 67% and 67%, respectively. CONCLUSION: High frequencies of respiratory disorders with sleep repercussions associated with oral alterations were observed, reinforcing the correlation between mouth breathing and changes in stomatognathic system.