Ricardo Santos is a Speech and Language Therapist with a Master’s degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences and specialization in Speech Therapy and Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders. He is an Invited Professor at the School of Health of the Polytechnic of Porto (ESS.IPP) in the MSc program and teaches in MSc and postgraduate programs in Orthodontics and Orthognathic Surgery. He maintains clinical practice at CUF Hospital (Porto) and Hospital Privado da Trofa, working within ENT, Sleep Medicine, and Dental Departments. He has received four scientific awards for research in Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy and has authored multiple scientific publications and conference presentations. He is a member of the Portuguese Scientific Society of Temporomandibular Disorders and Orofacial Pain (SPDOF).
Sleep disorders are currently recognized as a significant public health issue, with increasing prevalence and a substantial impact on children’s overall health, development, and quality of life. Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) presents with specific clinical features that are often underrecognized, despite its potential consequences on growth, behavior, learning, and orofacial development, highlighting the importance of early identification and intervention.
The management of pediatric OSA requires a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach, involving different healthcare professionals. Within this framework, speech and language therapy and pediatric dentistry play an increasingly relevant role, both in the identification of risk factors and clinical signs and in therapeutic intervention, in close collaboration with other medical specialties.
In recent years, Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy has demonstrated promising clinical outcomes in the management of pediatric OSA by promoting the reeducation of orofacial functions, normalization of muscle tone, and optimization of breathing patterns. Current scientific evidence supports its role as an effective complementary therapeutic approach, enhancing the outcomes of other treatment modalities.
This presentation aims to contextualize the role of the speech and language therapist in the assessment and intervention of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration with pediatric dentistry and other healthcare specialties, within a child-centered and integrated care model.
