Research progress on the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric malocclusion combined with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome

Pediatric malocclusion is common in dentistry. Some children with malocclusion combined with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) often fail to receive appropriate treatment due to a lack of multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment. It can cause abnormal ventilation during sleep, affecting the central nervous system and cardiovascular development and even causing neurological and behavioral problems. Pediatric OSAHS is caused by the narrowing of the upper respiratory tract, characterized by specific facial bone characteristics and neuromuscular factors and correlated with malocclusion. Due to its diverse clinical manifestations and etiology, the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric OSAHS require an interdisciplinary, personalized, and specialized approach. Questionnaires and physical examinations can be used for preliminary screening. Moreover, children's stomatology and otorhinolaryngology examinations are the basis for disease diagnosis. Polysomnography (PSG) is currently the direct diagnostic method. There are various treatment methods for OSAHS in children, and for OSAHS caused by adenoid tonsil hypertrophy, adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy are the main treatments. Othodontic treatment including mandibular advancement and rapid maxillary expansion et al is also effective for OSAHS in children with malocclusion. Currently, there is limited research on the correlation between childhood malocclusion and OSAHS, and multidisciplinary combination therapy may improve the cure rate, but there is a lack of sufficient evidence. In the future, the pathogenesis of OSAHS should be further elucidated, and research on multidisciplinary combination therapy should be promoted to achieve early intervention and treatment for potential and existing patients.