Universitat de Barcelona – Snoring and sleep disorders: A dental approach to a major public health issue

Dentists play a vital role in detecting diseases associated with dental health and facilitating earlier and less costly treatment of snoring and SA. In the specific case of sleep apnoea, failure to treat the disorder in its early stages can increase the cost of subsequent treatment two- or threefold. Lluís Nogués believes that, “dentistry has an increasing presence in the field of respiratory diseases, but hospital Sleep Units rarely have dentists as part of their teams. When dental professionals are required, hospitals seek the help of external partners to ensure the best service for their patients”. Nogués goes on to explain that, “At present, dental sleep medicine is a highly specialized area of study and requires specific postgraduate training. In the university sphere, we are pioneers not only in the teaching of this specialism but also in the care setting. Nevertheless, in Spain, the dental profession has become synonymous with business, and we must fight against this image and seek ways to work more closely with other specialists in the public healthcare system.”