How A Dentist Can Help With Problems That Are Affecting Your Sleep

A good night's sleep is more important to your overall health than many people realise. During sleep your body restores and repairs its cells and gets the rest it needs to stay energised throughout the next day. Sleep must be undisturbed for a full night in order to get maximum benefit, but often snoring and sleep apnea (a cessation of breathing during sleep) interfere with healthy sleep. Misaligned teeth can also interfere with sleep. If you suffer from any of these conditions, consider how a dentist may be the right person to visit for help.

Snoring

A person might snore for a variety of reasons, but usually it's because their mouth falls open during sleep and as air passes through the throat rather than the nose, it rattles the soft palate. This is the upper part of the mouth, near the back. Air can also cause dryness of the throat and this in turn can cause the sound of snoring.

A dentist can address this issue by fitting you with a mouth guard that keeps the mouth from falling open during the night. It gently keeps the hinges of the jaw in place and supports those muscles so the mouth stays closed. He or she can also remove excess tissue from the soft palate so that there is less tissue to vibrate and cause the sound of snoring. In turn, the noise won't wake you up (or wake up any bedmate you may have) and you can sleep more peacefully without snoring.

Sleep Apnea

One common cause of sleep apnea is excessive tissue on the roof of the mouth; this gets in the way of the air passages so that a person stops breathing during sleep and wakes up just long enough to get breathing again. Often they don't even realise that they've awakened. Removing this excessive tissue on the roof of the mouth can keep those airways open and keep a person breathing freely throughout the night.

Misaligned Teeth

Misaligned teeth can interfere with sleep because the teeth are meant to rest on each other for support. When they are misaligned, the muscles in the jaw can work overtime and in turn, you may suffer from pain in the face, neck, and around your temples. This pain can interfere with sleep, but a dentist can align your teeth in a number of ways. Traditional braces or plastic veneers can push teeth into place, or you might instead benefit from a bite guard that keeps your teeth supported during sleep.

For more information, contact a dentist like Bright Smile Dental Clinic.