Knowledge and Awareness of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Among Dental Students

Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) poses a significant global health burden but remains largely undertreated and underdiagnosed. Its screening relies on acquiring robust multidisciplinary knowledge and clinical application during training. However, its educational presence in predoctoral dental schools is limited. This cross-sectional study evaluated the knowledge of OSA among predoctoral dental students at various stages of education and their awareness of the dentist’s role in managing OSA. Two campuses of the same institution, offering different approaches of educational contents on OSA, were compared. Methods: A REDCapTM survey, consisting of the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Knowledge and Attitudes questionnaire, was distributed to all dental students from the two campuses (College of Dental Medicine—Arizona and College of Dental Medicine—Illinois) across all 4 years of dental school. Knowledge percentage and mean score were calculated based on number of correct answers and compared between the two campuses, sex, academic performance, and years of education with independent t-test, chi-square, and analysis of variance. Results: The survey was completed by 169 students. Average total knowledge score was 59.1% (10.6 ± 3.7). Third- and fourth-year students scored significantly higher than first- and second-year students. Participants from the campus with more OSA educational content achieved higher overall scores. Self-reported hours of education positively correlated with knowledge scores. As many as 87.0% of the participants were aware of the role of dental providers in managing OSA. Conclusion: This study highlighted a moderate knowledge of OSA among dental students. As increased hours of education was associated with greater knowledge in this field, it also emphasized the importance of integrating more educational content on OSA into the predoctoral curriculum.