Obstructive Sleep Apnea Awareness Among Dentists in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Nozha Sawan; Heba Bakhsh; Mohammed Aldossary; Reema Alhussan; Nourah Alharbi; Hoda M Abdellatif

doi:10.7759/cureus.36463

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Awareness Among Dentists in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Cureus. 2023 Mar 21;15(3):e36463. doi: 10.7759/cureus.36463. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Nozha Sawan¹, Heba Bakhsh¹, Mohammed Aldossary², Reema Alhussan³, Nourah Alharbi³, Hoda M Abdellatif^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, SAU.
² General Directorate of Research and Studies, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, SAU.
³ Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, SAU.
⁴ Public Health Sciences, College of Dentistry, Texas A&M University, Dallas, USA.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to assess the knowledge and clinical practices among dentists in Saudi Arabia regarding obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Material and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of 8 months across the whole country. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the OSA knowledge and practices. The developed questionnaire was closed-ended questions and consisted of three parts: (1) demographic information such as age, gender, work experience, workplace, and specialty; (2) knowledge of OSA; and (3) OSA management practice. The knowledge score was calculated based on six questions, each of which gives one point when answered correctly.

Results: A total of 450 dentists from all over the country were surveyed, with a predominance of females (55.6%) and Saudis (59%). About 56% learned about OSA in their undergraduate study, with theoretical lectures being the main source of information. The overall knowledge score was 3.09, with specialists having a higher score than general practitioners (GPs) (p<0.001) and those who learned about OSA in their post-graduate study having higher scores (p<0.001). Despite this, 58.89% never asked their patients about sleep history, and only 19.11% diagnosed patients with OSA before. Only 7.56% used oral appliances to treat OSA, and only one-quarter referred patients to a physician for a sleep-disordered diagnosis. However, 79.33% were willing to attend a continuing education course on managing OSA patients.

Conclusion: Our study shows that dentists in Saudi Arabia lack fundamental understanding regarding OSA and their role in screening, diagnosing, and treating patients with OSA, highlighting the need to educate the dental fraternity. Dental GPs and specialists, including orthodontists, must be actively involved in diagnosing and treating this life-threatening health issue.

Keywords: dental care; dentists; knowledge; obstructive sleep apnea; oral appliances; oral health; orthodontics; practice; saudi arabia.