We’ve all seen those cartoonish scenes where a person snores so loudly it shakes the house, keeping everyone awake. While it may seem funny in cartoons, snoring can signal a serious issue like Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)—which is no laughing matter. Many people view snoring as a mere annoyance in their relationships, but when a partner snores, it could indicate a significant health concern, such as sleep apnea.
At Omaha’s Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center, Dr. Melissa Sheets and her team are experts in treating snoring and sleep apnea with highly effective solutions. Serving Omaha, Nebraska, and nearby areas, we help patients achieve restful sleep. If you or a loved one snores, understanding the connection between snoring and dental health is key, and we are here to guide you through that process.
Understanding Snoring
Snoring affects men and women of all ages and is more than just a bad habit. It’s a sign that air isn’t flowing freely while you sleep, often due to an obstructed airway. This restriction can make breathing hard and isn’t something to ignore. Let’s explore the underlying causes of snoring and its link to your dental health.
When you sleep, the muscles in your tongue, throat, and soft palate naturally relax. However, if they relax too much, they can partially block your airway. This leads to vibrations of the soft tissues, which produce the familiar snoring sound as you attempt to push air through a restricted passage.
Common Causes of Snoring
Several factors can contribute to snoring, including sleep position, neck anatomy, nasal congestion, and certain medical conditions or lifestyle habits. A surprising link exists between snoring and dental health, particularly with bruxism or teeth grinding. Bruxism is when you gnash or clench your teeth during sleep, another indicator of disrupted sleep. If you’re tired of feeling fatigued and want to improve your sleep, Dr. Sheets’ team offers snoring treatments in Omaha to help you and your loved ones rest better.
The Link Between Snoring and Dental Health
Your Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) connects your lower jaw to your skull, with one TMJ on each side of your face just below the ears. A Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD) occurs when these joints are overworked or forced into unnatural movement, often leading to jaw misalignment during sleep. This misalignment can cause your tongue to sit farther back in your mouth, partially blocking your airway and contributing to snoring.
Additionally, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), the most common form of sleep apnea, occurs when the airway narrows or collapses during sleep, causing pauses in breathing. Snoring is often a telltale sign of OSA, and while not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, many do snore. Without treatment, sleep apnea can lead to serious long-term health issues.
Risk Factors for Snoring and Sleep Apnea
Risk factors that increase the likelihood of snoring and developing sleep apnea include:
- Being overweight
- Age (over 40)
- Having a large tongue, large tonsils, or a small jaw
- Nasal obstructions like sinus issues, allergies, or a deviated septum
- A family history of sleep apnea
Signs of sleep issues can include daytime tiredness, trouble concentrating, or poor short-term memory. Dr. Sheets may also look for other symptoms during your visit, such as:
- Dry mouth in the morning
- Teeth grinding (bruxism)
- Sensitivity in your teeth
- Cheek biting
- Enlarged tongue or tonsils
- Morning headaches
- Jaw pain
- Redness in the throat
- Gingivitis & Periodontal (gum) disease
How Snoring Impacts Your Oral Health
Snoring can often be a sign of sleep apnea, depriving the brain of oxygen. To compensate, the brain may signal the jaw to clench or grind teeth, shifting the lower jaw forward and helping open the airway. Over time, this grinding wears down the protective enamel of the teeth, leading to:
- Flattened or cracked teeth
- Enlarged facial muscles
- Recessed gums
- Scalloped (pie-shaped) tongue
- Calluses on the inside of the cheeks
Sleep apnea is also commonly linked with acid reflux (GERD). When the airway is blocked, the body tries to breathe, but the chest expands without drawing in air, creating a vacuum that pulls stomach acid into the esophagus. This acid can wear away tooth enamel, leading to yellowing and increasing the risk of cavities.
Taking Action
To help with snoring and dental health, you can:
- Avoid alcohol and sedatives before bed
- Quit tobacco
- Lose weight
- Sleep on your side or elevate your head
- Treat nasal congestion
- Brush your teeth at least twice a day for at least two minutes
- Floss daily
- Visit the dentist every two years for checkups
At Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center, we understand how frustrating snoring and sleep issues can be for you and your loved ones. Untreated, these issues can lead to more severe health problems, so addressing them early is crucial. Snoring, sleep apnea, and TMD are all interconnected with your dental health, so please call (402) 493-4175 today.