Association between snoring and deciduous dental development and soft tissue profile in 3-year-old children.

INTRODUCTION: The aim was to study the association between snoring and development of occlusion, maxillary dental arch, and soft tissue profile in children with newly completed deciduous dentition. METHODS: Thirty-two (18 female, 14 male) parent-reported snorers (snoring ≥3 nights/week) and 19 (14 female, 6 male) nonsnorers were recruited. Breathing preference (nose or mouth) was assessed at the mean age of 27 months by otorhinolaryngologist. At the mean age of 33 months, an orthodontic examination was performed, including sagittal relationship of second deciduous molars, overjet, overbite, and occurrence of crowding and lateral crossbite. Bite index was obtained to measure maxillary dental arch dimensions (intercanine and intermolar width, arch length). A profile photograph was obtained to measure facial convexity. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between nonsnorers and snorers in any of the studied occlusal characteristics or in measurements of maxillary dental arch dimensions. Snorers were found to have a more convex profile than nonsnorers. Occurrence of mouth breathing was more common among snorers. CONCLUSIONS: Parent-reported snoring (≥3 nights/week) does not seem to be associated with an adverse effect on the early development of deciduous dentition, but snoring children seem to have more convex profile than nonsnorers. Snoring is a mild sign of sleep-disordered breathing, and in the present study its short time lapse may not have had adequate functional impact on occlusion.

Dysbiosis in Snoring Children: An Interlink to Comorbidities?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Early microbial colonization has a key impact on infant health through nutritional, immunological, and metabolic programming. The origin of child snoring is multifactorial and complex, and may thereby also generate long-term health problems. The link between child snoring and gut microbes remains unclear, although indirect evidence exists regarding this relationship. This study aimed to characterize the connection between gut microbiota and child snoring. METHODS: In a prospective, observational CHILD-SLEEP birth cohort study, gut microbiota in a subcohort of 43 of these children at 2 years of life was profiled with 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing. RESULTS: A higher abundance of the Proteobacteria phylum, the Enterobacteriaceae family, and Erysipelotrichaceae family, as well as a higher ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes were detected in snorers as compared to controls. Furthermore, snorers showed significantly lower microbial diversity and richness than non-snorers. CONCLUSIONS: The snoring children manifest different gut microbiota as compared with healthy children. Considering that snoring and sleep disorders can be a source of long-term consequences, including cardiovascular, metabolic, immunological, neurocognitive and behavioral consequences, our results proposes early microbiota as a new treatment target.