Obstructive sleep apnoea – An orthodontist’s perspective

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is a common chronic sleep disorder affecting the upper airway, resulting in an intermittent stoppage in breathing due to which the person has sleep fragmentation. This was first described in the fictional literature by Charles Dickens and later emerged as a global condition identified by the medical world. Being a multifactorial condition, the treatment demands a collaborative effort from different fields of medicine and dental sleep medicine. Orthodontists,being experts in the craniofacial region play a fundamental role in the therapy of OSA. With proper diagnosis and utmost care, OSA can be recognized and managed at an early stage through an interdisciplinary approach, thereby arresting the progression to more severe forms.