A review of sleep disorders. The history and diagnosis of sleep disorders related to the dentist.

The last 4 decades have seen the emergence of a new medical specialty, sleep medicine. In response to an unfulfilled clinical need, and fueled by better understanding of the significance of sleep disorders, sleep medicine developed medical solutions for age-old problems with sleep and wakefulness. Sleep-disordered breathing has played a central role in this story. Therapy and management offered by the dentist has become recognized as an important aspect of care for patients with SDB. Dentists who offer this service need to become acquainted with the multifactorial nature of sleep medicine to serve their patients better and to facilitate their interaction with other sleep medicine clinicians.