Oral Health Problems Linked to Sleep Apnea

Poor sleep affects many Americans who can’t pinpoint the cause of their fatigue every morning. It could be that you stop breathing over and over in the night, causing your body to startle you into taking a breath without fully waking you. 

This condition is called sleep apnea, and it might be the culprit behind your partner’s complaints about your snoring as well.

At Bayside Dental Arts, Andrey Ilyabayev, DDS, provides safe, effective dental solutions for sleep apnea sufferers. If your sleep apnea is obstructive (blocked airway) rather than a central (brain doesn’t send proper signals to muscles that control breathing), it’s likely that an oral appliance can resolve the issue. 

Common causes of sleep apnea

Central sleep apnea is a rare brain disorder that interrupts orders from the brain to the lungs and causes breathing to cease briefly but repeatedly. Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition in which the muscles that hold the airway open relax too much and narrow or block the airway. 

Complex sleep apnea is a combination of central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea and is even more rare. 

Assuming you’ve ruled out central and complex sleep apnea with the help of a specialist, that leaves obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This is the most common form of sleep apnea, affecting over a billion people around the globe. 

Oral health issues linked to sleep apnea

OSA causes you to jerk, gasp, or snore in your sleep. These airway blockages are most often caused by some flaw in your mouth, jaw, or throat, including: 

• Misaligned bite 
• Short jaw (retrognathia)
• Narrow airway 
• Enlarged tonsils 
• Large tongue 

The first line of defense against sleep apnea is typically a continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) machine. This is a bulky machine that sits next to your bed, with hoses leading to a large mask that straps over most of your face to blow air into your airway.

Fortunately, there are much less invasive ways of handling OSA, and your dentist could be key. At Bayside Dental Arts, Dr. Ilyabayev can help determine what’s causing your sleep apnea and whether the problem can be solved without a CPAP machine.

Diagnosis and treatment

If you’re struggling to get restful sleep or receiving complaints from your bed partner, it might be time to consult a specialist. Dr. Ilyabayev examines your jaw and throat for what’s causing the blockage. From there, we create a custom-made appliance that addresses the problem. 

For misalignment of the teeth or jaw, the appliance can push your jaw forward while you sleep. If your tongue is falling back or the soft tissue at the back of your throat is collapsing, the appliance can position your jaw and tongue to keep your airway open so you can breathe easily. 

In some cases, orthodontic care can resolve sleep apnea. If you’re interested in improving your smile, our team at Bayside Dental Arts offers Invisalign® for teenagers and adults. 

To learn more about oral health and sleep apnea, schedule a consultation with Dr. Ilyabayev in the Bayside neighborhood of Queens, New York. You can call 315-908-0804 or request an appointment online.