Cibele Dal Fabbro: OSA Comorbidities and Multidisciplinary Management

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a complex chronic disorder with consequences extending far beyond disrupted breathing during sleep. Its association with cardiovascular, metabolic, neurocognitive, and other health conditions makes appropriate recognition and management essential—not only for sleep specialists, but for dentists, surgeons, physicians, and other healthcare professionals involved in patient care.

Effective treatment therefore requires more than simply reducing the apnea-hypopnea index. The clinician must consider the individual patient's symptoms, anatomy, disease severity, comorbidities, treatment tolerance, and long-term health risks when developing a therapeutic strategy.

In this lecture, Dr. Cibele Dal Fabbro will examine the important comorbidities associated with OSA and demonstrate why multidisciplinary management is central to contemporary sleep medicine. She will discuss the interaction between OSA and systemic health, the importance of screening and diagnosis, and how different healthcare disciplines can collaborate to identify patients at risk and develop individualized treatment pathways.

The presentation will place particular emphasis on the role of dental sleep medicine and mandibular advancement devices, while positioning oral appliance therapy within the broader spectrum of OSA management, including positive airway pressure, positional and myofunctional approaches, and surgical therapies. Her recent work emphasizes individual variability and phenotyping when selecting treatment, as well as collaboration between dental professionals and sleep physicians.

Participants will gain a practical understanding of how to move from an isolated treatment approach toward integrated, multidisciplinary OSA care, with the ultimate goal of improving sleep, systemic health, quality of life, and long-term outcomes.

SPEAKER

Cibele Dal Fabbro, DDS, PhD, is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Dental Medicine, Université de Montréal, and a researcher affiliated with the Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM) and the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine. Her principal research interests include obstructive sleep apnea, sleep bruxism, dental sleep medicine, and the relationship between oral function, sleep, and health in older adults.

She completed her dental education in Brazil and pursued graduate training in prosthodontics/oral rehabilitation at the University of São Paulo. Her PhD research focused on obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular reactivity in patients with severe disease treated with mandibular advancement appliances. She is also certified as a specialist in orofacial pain in Brazil.

Dr. Dal Fabbro has dedicated much of her academic career to dental sleep medicine and has been involved with interdisciplinary sleep research and clinical groups in Brazil and Canada. She has co-edited three books, including an early Portuguese-language textbook devoted to dental sleep medicine, and has published extensively in the field of sleep.

Her combination of expertise in dentistry, sleep medicine, oral appliance therapy, and interdisciplinary research provides an important perspective on how dental professionals can contribute to the comprehensive management of patients with OSA.

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE & PUBLICATIONS

Université de Montréal – Faculty Profile

CRIUGM – Cibele Dal Fabbro, DDS, PhD

Université de Montréal – Research Profile

Clinical Management of Co-occurring Sleep-Related Bruxism and OSA – PubMed

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the conclusion of this lecture, participants should be able to:

• Recognize important systemic and clinical comorbidities associated with obstructive sleep apnea.

• Understand why OSA requires multidisciplinary evaluation and long-term management.

• Identify the role of dental professionals within the multidisciplinary sleep team.

• Discuss appropriate indications and considerations for mandibular advancement device therapy.

• Compare oral appliance therapy with other contemporary OSA treatment modalities.

• Apply patient-specific factors and phenotyping principles when considering individualized treatment strategies.

  
  

TARGET AUDIENCE

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Dentists, Dental Sleep Medicine Professionals, Sleep Medicine Physicians, Otolaryngologists, Pulmonologists, Neurologists, Cardiologists, Primary Care Physicians, Residents, Fellows, and healthcare professionals involved in the diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep apnea.

FREE ONLINE LIVE EVENT

San Francisco: Monday, November 23, 2026 at 4:00 pm

Mexico City: Monday, November 23, 2026 at 6:00 pm

New York: Monday, November 23, 2026 at 7:00 pm

Rio de Janeiro: Monday, November 23, 2026 at 9:00 pm

London: Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 12:00 midnight

Berlin: Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 1:00 am

Johannesburg: Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 2:00 am

Cairo: Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 2:00 am

Dubai: Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 4:00 am

Delhi: Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 5:30 am

Manila: Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 8:00 am

Sydney: Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 11:00 am

LANGUAGE: The event language is English.

CE ACCREDITATION : surgeON is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. surgeON designates this activity for 1 credit hour of continuing education credits.

DECLARATION

In accordance with criterion 13 of document UEMS 2023.07.rev “EACCME® Criteria for the Accreditation of Live Educational Events (LEEs)” and the Standard v. Commercial or Promotional Conflict of Interest, published by the American Dental Association Continuing Education Recognition Program (ADA CERP), all surgeON presenters sign a Conflict of Interest form to document all perceived or actual conflicts of interest for the last 3 years, whether due to a financial or other relationship. This document can be viewed at the beginning of the event or on request by emailing info@surgeon-events.org No fee, honorarium or arrangement for re-imbursement of expenses in relation to the this event has been provided to the speaker.