Maintaining good dental health is essential to staying healthy overall. Having healthy teeth makes life easier, facilitates chewing, and minimizes pain. Few people think of sleep apnea when attending to their dental health needs. However, one dentist has found a correlation between dental health and sleep apnea, citing that sleep apnea could be potentially dangerous.
If left unchecked, sleep apnea can cause big problems. People with sleep apnea typically grind their teeth and clench their jaws during bouts of sleep apnea. This can lead to dental problems. If teeth grinding and jaw clenching are left untreated, there is a strong potential for other dental problems.
Millions of Americans have sleep apnea, but are not aware of it. When someone has sleep apnea, they actually stop breathing for a few seconds. People with sleep apnea disorders drift out of deep sleep and into a light state of sleep.
According to Donald Cadle Jr. of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, sleep apnea is a serious problem, but few people pay attention to it until it’s too late. Dr. Cadle has been studying sleep apnea for a long time and seeks to warn people about its potential dangers. He said that people with sleep apnea can stop breathing for as many as 10 seconds. People with obstructive sleep apnea are at the highest risk for problems related to sleep apnea, because sufferers temporarily stop breathing. Though it is only for a short period of time, stopping your breath repeatedly deprives the body of oxygen. This can lead to a host of other problems, including damage to the heart, brain and other vital organs.
People with sleep apnea frequently clench their jaws and often grind their teeth during sleep. However, Dr. Cadle has designed a system to help. Dr. Cadle uses devices that check the wind pipe and nasal passages. At this point, he can help patients improve their breathing. It’s important that people pay attention to their bodies to see if anything is abnormal. Waking up quickly may seem like an insignificant occurrence. However, it is abnormal and may be an indication of sleep apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea or OSA is the most severe form of sleep apnea and produces the most severe symptoms. According to the Mayo Clinic, a person with OSA stops breathing during sleep several times. OSA causes the throat muscles to block and relax. This closes airways during the sleep cycle.
Allan Melnick DDS
