Short sleep duration may be associated with the presence of dental caries

1. In this cross-sectional study, there was a negative association between sleep duration and dental caries.

2. Furthermore, those who slept an average of ≥7 hours were less likely to have dental caries than those who slept <7 hours.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

Dental caries are highly prevalent worldwide and can significantly impact overall health and quality of life in patients. A lack of sleep can be associated with inflammation, reduced immune function, and increased susceptibility to many conditions. Although prior studies have hypothesized that sleep duration may be related to dental caries, these studies have primarily focused on pediatric populations. Thus, the present study aimed to understand the association between sleep duration and the risk of dental caries.

The cross-sectional study enlisted survey data from 5,205 American participants from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) database from 2018 to 2018. Participants were excluded if they were under the age of 16 or if they had incomplete dental examination or sleep questionnaire data. Information on dental caries, sleep duration, and demographics were extracted from already-available survey data. Statistical analyses were performed using Chi-squared tests and Poisson and Logistic regression analyses. The primary outcome was the association between sleep duration and the presence of dental caries.

The results demonstrated a significant negative association between sleep duration and dental caries. Those who slept an average of ≥7 hours were less likely to have dental caries than those who slept <7 hours. Furthermore, an additional hour of sleep was associated with reduced odds of experiencing dental caries. Despite these results, the study was limited by the self-reported nature of the sleep data, which may have introduced bias. Nonetheless, the study findings demonstrated that getting an adequate amount of sleep may have a positive impact on oral health outcomes.

Click to read the study in BMC Oral Health

Image: PD

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