Gastroesophageal reflux disease, more commonly known as acid reflux disease, is when powerful acids from your stomach end up in your esophagus. This damaging disorder can cause traces of these acids to wind up in your mouth, causing enamel erosion and dental caries. Many people don’t realize that acid reflux could actually be a warning sign of sleep apnea, as the acids can back up in your esophagus and cause coughing which wakes you up.

Depression

If you’ve been feeling depressed or tired, it might not be what you think. You could actually be suffering from sleep apnea. Sleep apnea causes you to wake frequently during the night, and these disrupted sleep patterns could impact how serotonin works in your brain, causing you to feel depressed. The effect works two ways—decreased serotonin levels could also cause a disrupted sleep cycle!

Cognitive Disorders

Research indicates that people who have sleep apnea get diagnosed with cognitive disorders an average of ten years earlier than people who don’t have the disorder. Experts speculate that this is the result of a lack of oxygen in the blood, which means the brain can’t properly remove toxins or store memories. The effects may be memory loss or worse—early dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Mood Swings

Sleep hugely impacts your mood, research shows. When you get only a few hours of sleep every night, anxiety, stress, agitation, and more mood swings can become part of your daily life. If you’ve been seeing a dramatic change in your moods but are still getting that 8 hours every night, talk to your dentist, who can refer you to a sleep specialist. You could be waking up every few minutes and not know it!

Sexual Dysfunction

People with sleep apnea often experience a decreased sex drive or erectile dysfunction. This can be the result of a lack of deep sleep, which can negatively impact testosterone levels. Testosterone plays an important role in sex drive for both men and women. This is one symptom of sleep apnea that’s commonly overlooked, as people can be hesitant to talk about this with their physicians.

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, schedule a consultation with either your dentist or a sleep specialist. Your dentist can talk with you about your symptoms and perform and oral exam that’ll reveal the state of your oral health. Acid reflux has a huge impact on dental enamel, so you may need treatment for this along with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is considered a chronic disorder that can severely impact your health—don’t wait to seek a diagnosis or get treatment!

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Hydrochloric Acid Damages Tooth Enamel

Your stomach is protected from the harsh acids that help digest your food—but your teeth aren’t. Your teeth were never meant to be exposed to these acids, which are extremely corrosive to your teeth. Your teeth are protected with your tooth enamel, which is the toughest substance in the body. Unfortunately, tooth enamel doesn’t hold up against acids. These acids can come in the form of acidic foods such as sugar, or stomach acids for people with GERD.

When the acid backs up into your esophagus, traces of it can end up in your mouth. This lowers the pH of your oral cavity to be very acidic. Under these conditions, enamel can quickly get worn away. When enamel is gone, it’s much easier for cavities to form. This acidic environment worsens when you eat acidic foods in addition to having acid reflux.

What Happens When Enamel Is Gone

Once your enamel is gone, it doesn’t grow back. People who have damaged or missing enamel will often have to deal with the consequences for life. Enamel damage can lead to tooth sensitivity as well as cavities. When the protective layer of your teeth is no longer there, damage happens much faster. Missing enamel can also lead to discoloration of your teeth. If a cavity forms and is left untreated, root canal therapy may be needed. Missing enamel could also cause pain when you brush and floss in addition to eating hot or cold foods. Worst of all, if enamel damage becomes a problem yet your GERD continues to cause acids to end up in your mouth, damage can happen on a much larger scale.

How to Manage the Damage

Early diagnosis of GERD can minimize the damage that happens from stomach acids in your mouth. Unfortunately, many patients wait over a year to seek treatment for this problem! There are things you can do at home in addition to getting your condition treated by your doctor. These include not eating before bedtime—at least two hours before—and never laying down after eating. Laying down makes it much easier for acids to wash back into your mouth.

You can also eat smaller meals, which will help reduce stomach acid in the first place. Just eat more frequently in addition to smaller meals. Certain foods trigger certain people’s acid reflux—the most common ones include citrus foods, spicy and greasy foods, even chocolate and tomatoes. Know what triggers you and do your best to avoid it.

Quitting smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, and losing weight can also help you to live a healthier life in addition to managing your acid reflux. If you think you suffer from GERD, schedule an appointment with your doctor to diagnose and treat the condition before it has a chance to hurt your smile. Get a checkup with your dentist and talk to him or her about your acid reflux and what you can do. Acid reflux can harm your smile, but you can help circumvent the damage!

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