How Are Sleep Apnea and Oral Health Connected

If you have issues sleeping, such as snoring and insomnia, your dentist may have recommended you get tested for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea affects oral health, and dental problems such as tooth decay and gum disease can cause sleep apnea.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that affects 25 million American adults, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Repeated interruptions of breathing cycles characterize sleep apnea while someone is asleep. These interruptions are caused by a closure of the airways during sleep, which prevents oxygen from reaching the lungs.

Because sleep apnea interrupts sleep cycles, it saps daytime energy and mental performance. It also affects long-term health. Untreated sleep apnea can be fatal because drops in oxygen levels can cause lethal changes in the heart and blood pressure.

Sleep Apnea and Oral Health

Quality sleep keeps you healthy: it reduces bad breath and the growth of gum disease. Dental problems linked to sleep apnea include temporomandibular joint disorders, bruxism, and a tendency to breathe through the mouth.

1. Bruxism

Bruxism is simply a fancy name for grinding the teeth or clenching the jaw. While you may grind your teeth at any time, it usually occurs while you’re asleep. Bruxism can make you feel tired despite getting adequate sleep, cause headaches and neck or jaw pain, and make you more likely to have sleep apnea.

Bruxism is a disorder of the facial muscles, jaw, and mouth, in which sudden, forceful clenching of the jaw or grinding of the teeth occurs during sleep. This disorder can cause significant damage to your teeth and gums, perhaps even undetectable until a dental cleaning.

Symptoms can range from loose teeth to eroded surfaces or cracked, chipped, and broken teeth. If your dentist witnesses signs, they may ask if you have experienced any muscular pain in your head, neck, face, jaw, and dryness of your lips, mouth, and throat upon waking.

2. Mouth Breathing

Sleep apnea causes a person to breathe through the mouth. Mouth breathing is colloquially termed snoring. Snoring is the result of dry mouth, which leads to tooth decay. Additional consequences of dry mouth are plaque, mouth sores, gingivitis, and periodontal disease.

Oxygen levels decrease during blocked breathing. This condition is typically associated with loud snoring and daytime fatigue due to interrupted sleep.

Snoring is usually caused by the obstruction of the airway passage by the tongue. In some cases, it can be caused by malocclusion and can be treated with orthodontic appliances that expand the jaws, allowing more room for the tongue.

3. TMJ

TMJ disorders and sleep apnea are linked. TMJ connects the lower jaw to the upper jaw in all of us. You have two TMJ joints, one on each side of your face, and they can be painful when they are irritated.

TMJ disorder symptoms include pain in jaw joints, pain throughout the head, neck, and shoulders, problems chewing, jaw joints making clicking or grinding sounds, and an inability to open or close your mouth for a while.

Conclusion

Sleep apnea is a severe condition that requires you to change your sleep habits. Sleep apnea is more common than you may realize, affecting more than 25 million Americans. Fortunately, sleep apnea can be managed with changes to your daily habits. If you think you may have sleep apnea, contact your dentist for a consultation.

At Lethbridge Snoring and Sleep Apnea Clinic, we’re passionate about helping our patients achieve better sleep health. We provide sleep testing to help understand and assess underlying sleep conditions and provide the right treatment. If you’re looking for a sleep apnea clinic in Lethbridge, we can help! Get in touch with us today!