Snoring is not a good thing, as it can impact your dental health and your overall well-being. Often patients who snore have a condition known as sleep apnea. Other times, they may suffer from dry mouth – a condition that can lead to a series of oral health problems and complaints.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition where a patient, who snores, stops breathing for a short time when they sleep, sometimes for several minutes. If the condition is severe, they may need CPAP or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (respiration) therapy. They may also need to schedule surgery. We can work with your health care provider if your OSA is mild or moderate by fitting you with an oral appliance. We may also have to do this if you cannot tolerate CPAP therapy.
Dry Mouth
Besides sleep apnea, snoring often triggers problems with dry mouth. That is because you are breathing through your mouth when you sleep. When this happens, your mouth becomes more vulnerable to decay and problems with gum disease. You need to have a good saliva flow to keep your mouth's pH neutralized and prevent problems with plaque and tartar. Again, we can help by designing an oral device that opens the airway, thereby preventing a snoring problem.
Treating a Snoring Problem
Whether your snoring is related to sleep apnea or dry mouth, we can assist you with finding a solution. Besides providing an oral device for wear during the sleeping hours, we also recommend that patients sleep in a way that reduces a snoring problem. For example, it helps to elevate your upper body, not just the head, while sleeping. Doing so can take the pressure off the airway. If you just lift your head, it will have the opposite effect. We recommend fluoride treatments for treating dry mouth and suggest that patients regularly hydrate, drinking eight glasses of water per day.
If someone says that you snore, you need to have the condition medically and dentally assessed. Give us a call today if snoring has become an issue for you dentally.
Snoring is not a good thing, as it can impact your dental health and your overall well-being. Often patients who snore have a condition known as sleep apnea. Other times, they may suffer from dry mouth – a condition that can lead to a series of oral health problems and complaints.