Create Room for Bacteria

Your crowded teeth might not leave much room in your mouth, but what they are doing is creating room for bacteria to grow. This is because crowded teeth feature tight spaces that can be difficult—if not impossible—to clean with a toothbrush and some floss. It’s often challenging to clean crowded teeth because of the tight spaces they create in the mouth. When you can’t properly clean between teeth, bacteria feed plaque which can build up and eventually cause tooth decay or gum disease. When you can’t properly clean your teeth, bacteria can grow and cause oral health problems!

Abnormal Tooth Wear

Crowded teeth often come with a bite misalignment, which means that your teeth don’t fit together properly when you close your mouth or chew. If the teeth aren’t fitting together as they should, abnormal wear can happen to your teeth over time. The surfaces of your teeth can be worn down, exposing your dentin, which can lead to sensitive teeth and eventually problems with your tooth’s nerve as well as your gums. You may also be more at risk for grinding your teeth because of crowded or misaligned teeth, which causes excessive pressure and wear on your smile that can be damaging for life. How can you prevent crowded teeth from affecting your smile?

Steps to a Great Smile

Generally dental treatment is needed for your crowded teeth to make space for you to clean, properly chew, and have a beautiful correct bite. Your dental specializes in helping people create their dream smile. Your dream smile is more than just pretty teeth—your jaw and teeth should be entirely functional. Oftentimes people with crowded teeth experience problems speaking or chewing as well as a result of the misaligned bite or teeth.

When your crowded teeth are corrected, your teeth will be easier to clean, therefore allowing you to take control of your dental health and better brush and floss your teeth. This means preventing tooth decay and gum disease in addition to not putting extra stress or pressure on your teeth due to an improper bite. Your teeth will also be more functional for you and provide you with the confidence and functionality of a life with a healthy smile!

If you never got the opportunity to take advantage of care for your crowded teeth, it’s never too late to start. Your teeth last a lifetime, and you can experience a functional, healthy smile by correcting your crowded teeth. Reduce your risk for gum disease and tooth decay due to your crowded teeth—visit your dentist to begin your journey to a healthy smile today!

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Bacteria – Nails are usually the dirtiest part of a person’s hands (which isn’t a clean part of the body to begin with). Spreading bacteria in your mouth is terrible for your teeth as bacteria growth contributes to plaque buildup and tooth decay.

Wear and Fractures – When a person bites his or her nails, teeth wear unevenly. There is also a risk for fracture because pressure is concentrated on just one part of a tooth surface while trying to bite through the nail.

Promotes Bruxism – Repeatedly biting down on your nails, especially if you do so when stressed, can actually train your body to grind your teeth in times of stress. Teeth grinding, or bruxism can wear away enamel and cause jaw pain.

TMJ Disorder – A severe habit of nail biting can result in jaw problems as the jaw is clenched when a person is biting hard on their nails. The resulting condition, TMJ disorder, can be very painful.

Is this list of consequences enough to convince you to stop biting your nails? What if the problem now is that it is a deeply ingrained habit? How can you break free?

Tips to Help Break the Habit

Here are a few things you can try in order to stop biting your nails.

Stress management – Often, nail biting is a response to stress. Stress management techniques can help reduce the underlying cause of the nail biting.

Keep nails trimmed short – Sometimes, it may be as simple as not giving yourself much to bite on.

Treat yourself – Go out and get a manicure. Maybe the expense and well-groomed nails will be enough encouragement to leave them alone.

Polish – Whether you use a colored or clear polish, if you can find one that tastes really bad, that may help you catch yourself when you start to bite your nails without thinking about it.

Regardless of what you need to do to stop, know that you are doing it for a good reason. Nail biting is tough on your teeth. Quitting the habit may save your thousands in dental work in the future.

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When a person with sleep apnea is asleep, their breathing will periodically become obstructed. The patient may not even realize they are awake, but these sleep disruptions result in fewer deep sleep cycles. For some, the fact that sleep apnea complications are long-term means that they don’t feel the need to struggle through wearing a device. Oral appliances, however, are a far more comfortable and easy to use option than CPAP machines. These oral appliances allow you to get a good night’s sleep and avoid those dangers down the road.

Oral Appliance Advantages

Because you have to wear the device while you sleep, comfort is key. After all, what good is a device to help you breathe while sleeping if it keeps you awake half the night in discomfort? Oral appliances have the following advantages over other sleep apnea treatments:

– More comfortable

– Easy to put on and take off

– Quiet – allowing your mate to sleep as well

– Travels easily

– Simple to keep clean

How Does It Work?

The oral appliance is a custom-fit mouthguard that holds the airways open wider while you sleep. This prevents the obstructions that interrupt sleep and often cause snoring (which interrupts your mate’s sleep). This method is usable for those with mild to moderate sleep apnea.

The devices work in one of two ways. Some are designed to keep the tongue from blocking the airway (a common cause of airway obstruction during sleep). The second type gently nudges the lower jaw forward. This holds the airway open wider.

Winning the Fight Against Sleep Apnea

If you are struggling to control your sleep apnea, an oral appliance may be your opportunity to take control. There is no equipment to get tangled up in, it can easily fit in your traveling bags, and there is no blowing air to dry out your throat or sinuses.

The fact is that there are just too many sleep apnea complications to ignore the disease. Sleep apnea can result in hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and an increased risk of diabetes, just to name a few. Even just a few breathing interruptions per hour can cause you to be drowsy throughout the day. Some sufferers experience an obstruction every couple of minutes.

If your diagnosis has revealed that an oral appliance can treat your condition, by all means, make your appointment today. Your oral appliance may add years to your life.

The post How Exactly Do Sleep Apnea Oral Appliances Work? appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.