Treat and Prevent Dental Problems While You Sleep

Did you know that many oral health problems can be treated while you sleep? They can also be prevented while you sleep. Plaque will work as long as possible on your teeth to erode and decay them. That is why you always brush your teeth before bedtime. However, fluoride treatments can help intensify your oral health protection during that sleep. Other dental devices such as night guards and orthodontic appliances can straighten your teeth, combat joint and erosion problems, as well as reduce your risk for cavities.

Dental Problems and Health Problems

Are you getting enough sleep each night? Most people aren’t according to studies. The American Sleep Association reports that between 50 and 70 million Americans have some sort of sleep disorder at any given time. This leads to snoring (in about 48%), accidentally falling asleep (38%), nodding off driving (about 5%) and more from a lack of sleep. One of the major causes is simply being too busy that you don’t plan for the sleep you need to stay healthy. Another major cause of sleep problems is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which plagues about 25 million American adults.

This is a condition where a person stops breathing correctly during the night, and it can lead to the body constantly waking up in the night. Fatigue, headaches, facial pain, tooth pain and many other problems can happen because of your sleep. At the same time, problems such as these can be combatted or prevented while you sleep. The average adult needs between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night to stay healthy. However, insomnia rates are high and studies show that they can stem from simple, fixable medical or dental problems. Stress and anxiety are also shown to cause teeth clenching and grinding, which can significantly damage a smile. If you have dental problems preventing that sleep, they can be combated with the right dental device.

Combatting Fatigue and Sleep Apnea

Do you feel fatigued on a daily basis? Millions of Americans do and it may not be due to cutting out sleep on purpose. You can know if you have fatigue (compared to simply being tired) if you still feel tired no matter how much sleep you get. If you have a history of problems such as sleep apnea or Obstructive Sleep Apnea that runs in your family, consider being tested. This is a serious condition that happens during sleep that affects your breathing and your quality of sleep.

OSA is a serious sleep problem, where the tongue falls back towards the throat while a person is sleeping. When the tongue falls back against the soft palate and uvula, it closes off a person’s airway. This can happen over and over during the night when a patient relaxes. Patients can go a few seconds or even a minute without breathing, where they then wake up on some level. If this happens constantly during the night, you’re not only waking up up to hundreds of times a night, but your body is in distress from not breathing. OSA should be treated right away to prevent serious health problems or death (in rare cases). Proper treatment for dental problems like these can significantly improve your sleep, health, and can get rid of your chronic fatigue.

Clenching and Grinding

Clenching and grinding are very common dental problems that people have at night. Most of the time, people don’t even realize that they have this problem until tooth cracks, fractures or breaks happen suddenly. A dentist can see the signs of grinding, as tooth grinding will slowly buff the top of your teeth down. Some patients can know the signs of clenching their teeth at night (or biting together with a lot of pressure) because they will have tooth or facial pain and daily headaches. Clenching and grinding the teeth are known as “bruxism”.

Teeth grinding effects about 30-40 million children and adults in the U.S. One of the most common treatments for teeth grinding is a custom-made night guard. Night guards are retainer-like pieces of plastic that  cover either the top or bottom set of teeth. The appliance cushions your teeth from the force of clenching and stops the molars from grinding together. This not only protects your teeth from dental problems, but allows you to sleep more soundly. You want to have a custom-made guard from a dentist instead of a mouthguard bought over-the-counter. Store-bought guards are made for a general mouth size, and the gaps it may have between your teeth and the guard may mean that your dental problems aren’t being helped.

Treat and Prevent Dental Problems with Ease

TMJ is one of the more common dental problems. This means “temporomandibular joint” disorder. The TMJ is the joint that helps your jaws move, which is on either side of your mouth in front of your ears. Dysfunction of this joint is common with clenching and grinding and can lead to facial and tooth pain, sometimes chronic. A simple mouth guard can stop your pain and symptoms with this, just like it can with clenching and grinding. You want to see a dentist to know which problem is the actual problem you have.

You can also prevent tooth decay and gum disease while you sleep. The easiest way is to simply brush and floss your teeth well before sleeping. Brush for 2 minutes and floss well, going up into the gum line and scraping your teeth as you go. That minimizes decay-causing plaque that can work on your teeth at night. These simple habits help you to avoid oral health diseases. With the right knowledge and care, it can be easy for you to treat and prevent dental problems while you sleep. Even simply practicing good oral hygiene can help you prevent many dental problems before they start. If you think you have a cavity or signs of sleep apnea or TMJ, make sure to call Stonebrook Family Dental at (303) 872-7907 for your consultation!