How Oral Health Affects Your Sleep

It’s no surprise that we are all after a good night’s sleep. But what you may not know is that your sleep quality is directly affected by your oral health. Taking a visit to your local dentist can help prove your suspicions and develop an appropriate resolution and restore your sleep!

• Childhood Teeth Grinding: Children who are heard grinding their teeth in their sleep or complain of teeth grinding is cause for concern. Typically this can be an indication that there are breathing complications or there is a compromised airway. This can lead to long term issues and even sleep apnea as an adult.
• Dry Mouth: If you are waking up in the middle of the night or the morning with a dry mouth you are depriving your saliva to do its job. Saliva serves as a first line of defense in breaking down harmful bacteria and prevents tooth decay.
• Difficulty Breathing: Repetitive bouts of breathing complications is certainly a main symptom of sleep apnea.
• TMJ (temporomandibular joint syndrome): Pain in your jaw joint and the muscles that control jaw movement.
• Bruxism: Teeth grinding as adults is often missed by us but presented by a dentist. Teeth grinding is caused primarily by stress and can cause severe damage to the teeth and allow for cavities to form and teeth to wear down.

If you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms it’s time to brush up on your oral health and speak to the team at Brush Dentistry in Seattle. Our dentists can do a thorough examination and discuss different options like mouth guards, dental hygiene practices and more to ensure optimal oral health. Seeing your dentist regularly and caring for your teeth can help you minimize the risk for these symptoms and lead to a better night’s sleep. Have more questions? Schedule your next appointment with us to chat about them!