Screening and Evaluation of Dental and Systemic Risk Factors for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Cross-sectional Study

tool for diagnosing suspected OSA cases.Dentists can also assess indicators, such as body mass index (BMI) and neck circumference (NC), which are strongly correlated with OSA risk in tandem. IntroductIonObstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep-related breathing disease (SRBD) affects approximately 49.7% of men and 23.4% of women worldwide. 1Its prevalence is rising particularly in developing nations, due to increasing obesity rates, rapid urbanization, and changing lifestyles, which contribute significantly to disease occurrence.If left undiagnosed or untreated, OSA can lead to cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, neurocognitive impairment, and even sudden death. 2 These consequences necessitate the need of prompt diagnosis and intervention.Although polysomnography (PSG) remains the gold standard for diagnosing OSA, 3 its high cost, time requirements, and availability restrict its use, particularly, in low-resource areas.Hence, there is growing interest in simpler, noninvasive screening approaches, such as validated questionnaires and clinical assessments, to determine people at high risk of OSA.Obstructive sleep apnea is influenced by several modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors, such as obesity, age, sex, and distinct orofacial characteristics. 4Patients with OSA often exhibit anatomical features, such as a restricted pharyngeal airway, deep palatal vault, enlarged soft palate, hypertrophied tonsils, and macroglossia.Dental professionals routinely encounter these orofacial features during regular examinations; hence, oral examination can be considered an early recognition and referral