Sleep and Oral Health

Sleep is something that you might not think naturally contributes to oral health, but it can be. When you have a good sleep, your body’s working well. when you don’t, it impacts the immunity and it might cause bacteria to start to seep in.   

But, did you know that your oral health might be why you aren’t getting sleep. If you are constantly getting up feeling more tired than usual, despite getting more than enough sleep, there is a chance that you might have an oral health disorder impacting the sleep that you are getting.

Here’s what you’ve got to do if you do have this, and what might be going on.

The Conditions Affecting Teeth and sleep 

There are some conditions you might not even realize that are going on.

One of them is sleep apnea. 

This is when, while you’re sleeping, the airways close.   It is attributed to snoring, but many times, people are shaken awake, and then they go back to sleep.   In severe cases, you might not breathe for a little bit, until your body wakes you up.

The problem with sleep apnea is that it can be a deadly problem. It causes you to not breathe while you sleep, which is one of them. but it also contributes to heart disease, heart failure, stroke, arrhythmia, and also may cause sudden oxygen drops that strain your cardiovascular system.

It also causes high blood pressure and increases insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

There are also mental health issues that come with this, and you might be irritable, anxious, or quick to anger.

Finally, there is daytime fatigue, which causes fatigue and irritability because you’re not getting the restorative sleep you need.

The other condition is bruxism. This is where you grind your teeth in your sleep. It might come along with sleep apnea but tends to be its own thing.   Over time, this causes the teeth to wear down, headaches, jaw pain, TMJ issues, and also gum recession. It might also cause insomnia and depression. 

Treatments for This 

Most of the time, when you have this problem, you should see a doctor immediately. Sometimes regular doctors may find this when assessing your cardiovascular health, or they might notice a click in your TMJ. 

With bruxism, the solution is mouthguards while at night, to prevent the grinding of the teeth. You might need aligners such as orthodontics to help with the problems as well.

For sleep apnea, your doctor might order a sleep study to see what’s really going on with your sleep patterns. From there, you might get a machine, such as a CPAP machine, which delivers air to you while you sleep, and keeps the mouth naturally open.

Now most of the time, with sleep hygiene, it might be due to environmental issues. Try to reduce blue light before going to bed, and don’t eat too much prior to sleep. If you’re stressed out, try to figure out ways to reduce the stressful patterns in the body. 

Overall though, these patterns are entirely preventable, and if you are able to see that you are grinding a lot, seeing a doctor will help. For sleep apnea, if you find out you’re snoring a lot, you should see a doctor.

Maintaining good dental health leads to better sleep and a better life. Start to maintain your dental health today and get what you need, so that you can catch the Zs that you deserve, and also reduce the prevalence of the issues that come with the sleep disorders that have plagued you all of this time.