As a result of the body being woken up so often during the night (as few as five and as many as thirty or more times every night), obstructive sleep apnea causes the body undue stress. Therefore, people with sleep apnea are more at risk for chronic disease or health conditions such as:

 High blood pressure

 Heart disease (therefore increasing your risk for heart attacks and stroke)

 Obesity

 Sexual dysfunction (may manifest as erectile dysfunction in males)

 Type 2 diabetes

 Depression

 Decrease in cognitive abilities, such as thinking or remembering

 Fatigue during the daytime, which may result in accidents or injuries

 Premature death

In addition to causing the body stress, the decreased levels of oxygen in the body because of trouble breathing can cause these health problems as well. Not to mention not getting enough sleep or being constantly disturbed during your sleep—whether or not you’re aware of it—makes for poor health.

Risk Factors and Symptoms of OSA

More than 25 million American adults have sleep apnea! You’re more likely to have sleep apnea if you:

 Are overweight or obese

 Are male

 Have a family history of sleep apnea

 Are older

 Smoke or drink alcohol, especially frequently

People who have obstructive sleep apnea typically snore, may be extremely tired during the day, wake up with a dry mouth or a headache, or even have difficulty focusing on tasks throughout the day. If you find yourself waking often during the night gasping, experiencing a decreased sex drive, or have unexplained mood changes, schedule a visit with your doctor to see if you could be suffering from OSA.

What Can You Do?

Many people who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea can benefit from oral sleep appliances. Often, dentists are among the first health care professionals that notice the signs of sleep apnea. This is because their patients may experience dry mouth from mouth breathing or snoring, therefore decreasing saliva content and making an ideal environment for bad bacteria to cause enamel erosion, tooth decay, and bad breath!

Your dentist can recommend you to a sleep specialist to be evaluated for obstructive sleep apnea. If you have a diagnosis, you can talk with your dentist about how an oral appliance can help. Since the airway is blocked during sleep in OSA, dental appliances can help keep the airway open and prevent collapse, therefore resulting in a more satisfying night’s sleep and making an effective treatment for OSA!

Talk to your primary care physician or your dentist about OSA. Your partner may have complained about your snoring, or you may feel fatigued and moody during the day without understanding why. OSA could be the cause of your health concerns and can lead to chronic health problems if not addressed. Find out if you suffer from OSA today!

The post Understand the Health Impacts of Obstructive Sleep Apnea appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

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!

The post Crowded Teeth Affect More Than Your Appearance appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

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.

The post Nail Biting vs. Your Teeth appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

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.

The Effects of Diabetes on Oral Health

When your blood sugar is high on a regular basis, it can have several different effects on the mouth. First of all, diabetes can lead to a dry mouth. When the mouth is dry, bacteria can spread faster. This leads to tooth decay and gum disease. Diabetes can also result in fungal infections in the mouth. These infections feed on sugar.

Early Warning Signs

The following symptoms can tip you off that high blood sugar is starting to take its toll on your oral health:

Inflammation – Before periodontal disease sets in, it is usually preceded by inflamed gums. This inflammation is caused by a buildup of bacteria, plaque, and tartar along the gumline.

Dry Mouth – Your saliva keeps your teeth healthy by washing away bacteria. Unfortunately, high blood sugar dries out the mouth leading to decay.

Thrush – Thrush is a fungal infection of the mouth. Sugar feeds it. When a person’s blood sugar is high, saliva sugar levels are increased as well. It is a sure sign of diabetes that is out of control.

How Dental Health Affects Blood Sugar

Unfortunately, the system can quickly become self-perpetuating. High blood sugar causes infection in the mouth. That infection, in turn, makes it difficult to control blood sugar. Is there anything you can do?

Controlling Your Health from Two Sides

You need to address this issue from both fronts. First, it is important to check your blood sugar regularly, stick to a low or no-sugar diet, and take your diabetes medication according to schedule. Keeping your blood sugar under control will keep your oral health under control.

On the dental side of things, you need to be sure to care well for your teeth and gums. Brush and floss on a regular schedule using the proper techniques. You may need to see your hygienist for a cleaning more often than the recommended six-month intervals to ensure that tartar does not build up. Your dentist can also address infections. Curing these will help you to keep your sugar levels under control.

If you suffer from diabetes, do not resign yourself to lost teeth and oral infections. You can win the battle, and your dentist will help.

The post Are Diabetics More Susceptible to Oral Health Problems? appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

A Long-Term Solution – Composite crowns and bridges are stronger than their predecessors and provide long-term benefits.

Look and Feel – Because metal-free crowns and bridges are made from things like resin, quartz, and glass, they look more like your other teeth. That’s because teeth have almost a bit of translucence that can only be attained with these materials. Plus, metal-free crowns and bridges are about the same strength as your natural teeth, keeping your bite nice and even.

Cost – Metal-free crowns and bridges cost less.

Reduced Sensitivity – Less pain from hot or cold beverages is reported from individuals with metal-free crowns and bridges.

Do I Need a Metal-Free Crown?

If you are missing a tooth or have a damaged tooth, metal-free crowns are a great way to cover the damage and protect your oral health. If you have had a root canal or chipped a tooth, a dental crown can cover the remaining tooth. This restores a natural look to your smile, it protects the tooth from further damage, and it also allows you to chew naturally.

Metal-free crowns are also often used when a person gets a dental implant to replace a missing tooth. While the anchor and screw will be made of titanium, the crown can be metal-free. The crown is designed to match your teeth in shape and color thus being both aesthetically pleasing and fully functional.

When Are Metal-Free Bridges Used?

A bridge is used when several teeth next to each other are all damaged or missing. In this case, the crowns are all anchored together. For example, if you have four missing teeth all in a row, you can have them replaced with a metal-free bridge. Rather than having to get a separate titanium implant to attach each crown, a bridge made up of four crowns can usually be attached using just two implants. This is a cost-effective approach to replacing several teeth next to each other. Again, metal-free bridges are also aesthetically pleasing and fully functional.

Personal Preference

While metal crowns and bridges are FDA approved and pose no real health risks, some simply prefer not to have metal in their mouth. If this is the case for you, ask your dentist if they offer metal-free crowns and bridges today!

The post The Benefits of Metal-Free Crowns and Bridges appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.