Sleep Disorders And Your Dental Health

Posted by Crown House Dental on 9th November 2018

Making The Connection

Snoring can be so very irritating and sometimes downright rage-inducing, particularly if you're the one sleeping next to the person doing it!

Snoring can lead to sleep deprivation in both the person who is snoring and their partner, leading to cranky moods, lack of concentration and sleepiness in the day, amongst other symptoms.

Snoring may even be related to more serious conditions such as sleep apnoea, where a person stops breathing several times through the night. Sleep apnoea can cause even more worrying symptoms on top of those you get because of snoring, such as increasing your risk of strokes or high blood pressure.

So whether you snore, grind your teeth or you have sleep apnoea, the fact of the matter is you aren't sleeping as soundly as you should, and the chances are your partner isn't either. The good news? Your dentist can help! First things first though, lets take a closer look at snoring, sleep disorders and your dental health.

Snoring

Snoring is a common issue experienced by both men and women and you tend to be more likely to snore if you are overweight, smoke, drink large amounts of alcohol, or sleep on your back. It is caused by the parts of the mouth vibrating as you breathe in and out and can be very mild, or quite extreme. Snoring often causes more issues for the partner of the person who snores as it keeps them awake. However, the person snoring may wake themselves up several times and they may find their sleep quality isn't very good, causing tiredness and sleep deprivation over time.

How Crown House Dental Can Help

We recommend you see your GP if snoring is having a drastic effect on your quality of life as they may wish to check you don't have sleep apnoea which is more serious than snoring alone. We may be able to help with your snoring issue by treating you with a special dental device which brings the tongue forward if the problem is mild and if you do not require sleep clinic intervention. At the very least we can provide help and support in keeping your oral health in good condition alongside medical issues you may be challenged with.

Sleep Apnoea

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is common, and can be very dangerous. It is where the muscles of the throat relax so much when you sleep that you breathe shallow breaths or stop breathing altogether several times an hour. Often you will be woken up with a snort or a choke as your body reacts to the lack of air and wakes you up. This condition can lead to sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and a lowered quality of life. It may also leave you more susceptible to conditions like high blood pressure, or strokes.

In most cases there are things that make you more susceptible to sleep apnoea like sleeping on your back and being overweight. In a lot of cases, the partner of the person suffering spots the issue first, and it can be quite scary when your partner stops breathing for any length of time.

How Crown House Dental Can Help

In the first instance you should seek medical help from your GP in regards to sleep apnoea and you may need to go to a sleep clinic to determine how severe your sleep apnoea actually is. They can tell you if you need something called a CPAP machine which keeps your airway open all through the night, or if your condition isn't severe enough to warrant this type of machine, you have other options they will discuss with you.

We may be able to help with dental devices for sleep apnoea. These work similarly to sports mouth guards but by changing the position of your jaw, or by stopping the tongue from slipping back.

Bruxism

Bruxism is where you clench your jaw or grind your teeth at night. It can crack teeth and damage them and it can also cause facial pain and headaches. It is often something that people do without thinking, and commonly happens at night when stress or anxiety from the day surfaces and causes the grinding to happen. If you haven't noticed any symptoms yourself, your Egham dentist may notice it is happening first, when they examine your teeth during a checkup.

Mouth guards

You might be grinding your teeth because you are stressed, in which case relaxation and changing your approach to work and your personal life could help drastically. When it comes to help from your Egham dentist, we can provide custom made mouth guards or other dental devices that help to prevent you from grinding your teeth. We can also help repair any damage done by teeth grinding so that you retain a healthy, happy smile despite the issue.

Booking An Appointment With Crown House Dental If You Think You Have A Sleep Disorder

You may have a sleep disorder, but not be aware it could be causing issues with your teeth, or you may suspect you have a sleep disorder and would like to discuss that with us. In the first instance, if you have serious issues with a sleep problem that affects your quality of life you should see your GP first just to check the seriousness of the condition. We can provide additional help and treatment in combination with treatment from the doctor, or if the problem is mild enough or does not need help from the GP, we can provide supportive treatments that could help. In some instances a mouth guard is enough to completely eradicate the issue for some people.

It all starts with a consultation at our professional clinic in Egham; so please call our team on 01784432641 and we will be pleased to book you an appointment at a time to suit you. We have plenty of ways to help you find relief from your sleep disorder, whilst also protecting your dental health.

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