Patients with obstructive sleep apnea can favor the predisposing factors of periodontitis by the presence of P. melaninogenica and C. albicans, increasing the severity of the periodontal disease

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to analyze the cultivable oral microbiota of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and its association with the periodontal condition.MethodsThe epidemiology profile of patients and their clinical oral characteristics were determined. The microbiota was collected from saliva, subgingival plaque, and gingival sulcus of 93 patients classified into four groups according to the periodontal and clinical diagnosis: Group 1 (n = 25), healthy patients; Group 2 (n = 17), patients with periodontitis and without OSA; Group 3 (n = 19), patients with OSA and without periodontitis; and Group 4 (n = 32), patients with periodontitis and OSA. Microbiological samples were cultured, classified, characterized macroscopically and microscopically, and identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. The distribution of complexes and categories of microorganisms and correlations were established for inter- and intra-group of patients and statistically evaluated using the Spearman r test (p-value