I Can't Breathe, And My Teeth Are Shrinking!

Years ago, I could swear people were coming to me with signs of freshly ground tooth enamel or broken teeth and crowns. I could literally watch the teeth being carved down over the course of hygiene visits. So I would ask them if they were aware of a habit that would make that happen. "No," they would shrug. "I don't." The only thing I and my patients could agree on was that they didn't grind their teeth during the day.

I know tooth wear is not typical. In fact, our brains do not allow our teeth to touch, even when we eat. If they do touch, it's called parafunction, or an abnormal function. So I was puzzled for a long time. It's frustrating when you know there's a reason for an occurrence, but you can't identify it.

What I started to recognize around 2005 was that patients informed me more often about obstructed breathing in their medical histories. Then I started to make a tally of which of these patients had tooth damage  and which didn't. And then I compared them to the patients who were not claiming obstructed breathing disorders. I noticed that all patients I saw who had a sleep breathing disorder were manifesting tooth wear.  The literature showed that this was occurring in a cause-and-effect fashion: When your airway closes, your brain instructs your jaw to move to open your airway. Your teeth can be in the way, and over time, will suffer damage in attempts to remedy obstructed airflow.

We work closely with specialists to determine if you have a breathing disorder, and we treat sleep breathing disorders with oral appliance therapy. We just so happen to treat teeth as well. Call us to schedule an appointment today.

Let Us Help You Understand Your Risk For Sleep Disordered Breathing

Sleep apnea is more common today than ever. Just look at how national news covers this disease. But a better way of defining this problem is sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). SDB is connected to a higher risk of depression, loss of concentration, hyperactivity, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, dementia, as well as a number of dental problems.Children and adults are candidates for this problem. In previous posts, I have shared what signs you or your partner should look for when you suspect a sleep breathing disorder for you or your family.

If you are worried about you, your partner, or your family having SDB, we can help. We can screen you for signs and symptoms of the disease in our office.

Some people question a dental office as the best place for a screening. But Dentists may likely be the best providers to screen patients for SDB based on their understanding of the head, and neck, the many anatomic signs they can diagnose in SDB patients. Dentists also have the luxury of seeing patients more often over time than their physician counterparts, and that is a helpful element when being able to track changes in patients' health as it relates to SDB.

Based on your initial consultation, we can offer an at-home overnight oximetry and motion sensor test to monitor your breathing and motion while sleeping. We will analyze the data from your at-home test and determine if you are at high risk for sleep disordered breathing.Call us today for a free consultation to discuss your sleep breathing concerns.