Have you ever wondered what having a sleep study has to do with your teeth? Sleeping and breathing issues can cause some damage that is detrimental to our oral cavity. Dentists make sure your oral cavity is healthy, but your breathing and sleep habits have more to do with it staying in a healthy state than you may think. In many cases, Dentists are the first professionals to identify sleep apnea through an oral examination and discussing symptoms with their patients. According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, “It is estimated that 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, but 80 percent go undiagnosed.”
One of the most common things dental professionals encounter in patients with sleeping or breathing issues is wear on the enamel. There is a correlation between sleep apnea patients and the clenching/grinding of their teeth at night. One theory of why patients with sleep apnea grind are that when an airway becomes obstructed, the muscles in the mouth and jaw move to try and reopen the blocked airway. This grinding wears down the enamel structure of your teeth and makes them flat or, in some cases, crack and break. Unfortunately, we can’t rebuild enamel, so you would need to prevent further wear from continuing and, in some cases, repair some of the damage that was done. We typically recommend that patients wear a night guard when they sleep to prevent this type of damage to their teeth. Not only does grinding damage our teeth, but it also wears down the joints.
Before you get fitted for a night guard, a sleep study must be done first, especially if there are other signs of sleep apnea. We want to ensure you can adequately breathe through your nose and sleep well at night before putting something in your mouth and making things worse. There may be another appliance that will better suit your needs as a patient after we know the correct sleep studies diagnosis, such as one that holds your lower jaw in the correct position or a CPAP device; in some cases, surgery is recommended.
Mouth Breathing is also detrimental to your oral health. When we have dry mouths from breathing with our mouths open, we decrease saliva, which is a cavity risk. Saliva has the function of remineralizing the enamel and keeping them from getting cavities. So seeing a medical doctor or an ear, nose, and throat specialist to ensure you can breathe through your nose correctly is beneficial to your health. Additionally, mouth breathing can cause inflammation in the gum tissues around your top front teeth, creating puffy and bleeding gums.
Another typical symptom patients with sleep apnea experience are snoring. Although this may seem like a normal thing humans do when they sleep, it is, in fact, not typical and not suitable for your overall health. According to a study done by Yale Medicine, “As many as 90 million Americans report snoring at one time or another, while 37 million say they snore regularly.” It may seem harmless, but snoring is directly linked to a severe obstructive sleep apnea condition and should be discussed with a medical doctor. There are several reasons why someone may snore, and it is usually due to some obstruction. There could be a possible nasal obstruction. Sometimes a stuffy nose from allergies, a cold, or a sinus infection. Polyps or growths in the nostrils can also block breathing. There could also be an anatomical problem, such as a crooked nasal septum or a long and narrow palate. If the palate is too long, it narrows the nose and throat opening, affecting breathing. Keeping a healthy body weight is also essential for snoring and sleep apnea patients because obesity or excess weight creates more bulky throat tissue in the neck area. This can cause a narrowing of the airway and cause or worsen the act of snoring.
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you may want to schedule an appointment for a sleep study. This study will help your medical doctor determine if these symptoms stem from Obstructive Sleep Apnea.