Smile with Confidence: A Comprehensive Guide to Dental Health and Care

sleep apnea

Common Dental Questions, dental care questions and answers, dental health tips, cosmetic and restorative dentistry, dental technology, ask a dentist about sleep-apnea

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Millions of Americans suffer with sleep apnea, and many more are diagnosed with this condition every day. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute reports that more than 10 million people in our nation have been diagnosed with the disease, and many more don’t even know they have it. Sleep apnea is on the rise in the U.S., for reasons still largely unknown to the medical community. Many people know that sleep apnea complications can be serious, but did you know that your sleep apnea is likely affecting the health of your teeth? So, what exactly is sleep apnea? Is it really that serious? And just how does sleep apnea affect teeth? Dental offices and throughout the country recommend that all Americans educate themselves on this medical condition in order to contain its complications.

Sleep Apnea and Teeth

Millions of people in the United States today suffer from sleep apnea, and many of them don’t even know it. In fact, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, upwards of 12 million people in the U.S. have from sleep apnea. That means that about 1 in 20 people throughout the country suffer from sleep apnea, with many of them not even being aware of their medical condition. The problem, of course, with not knowing is the serious complications that can occur due to this disorder with no preventive measures being taken. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that can cause its sufferers to stop breathing while they’re sleeping, with incidents of breathing cessation occurring up to 100 times per night. One of the little known consequences of sleep apnea is its effects on oral health, which can be serious.

How to Prevent Snoring

Quiet, uninterrupted sleep … it’s what every snorer and partner of a snorer longs for every night. Snoring has been comedic fodder for decades in TV and in movies, but if you’re someone who experiences it from either perspective, it’s anything but funny. If you snore, you wish you didn’t, but if you’re the partner of a snorer, you’ve likely stopped at nothing to solve the problem. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were some sort of elixir or magic potion that would end that awful wheezing noise and allow you to sleep again? Okay, so there’s no magic to preventing snoring, but there are things folks can do to reduce or even eliminate it. It’s just a matter of finding the cause and taking the necessary steps to prevent that awful snoring once and for all. Easier said than done, right? Here are some tips on potential causes of your snoring as well as possible solutions.