Terri Ramsey Beavers The effects of snoring go beyond the loud noise that you make while sleeping. As a matter of fact, snoring can greatly affect your dental health. Read on to understand the relationship between snoring and dental health.
How Does Snoring Occur?
Sleeping is a state of relaxation, and your whole body including your mouth is in a state of rest during this period. Your throat, tongue, and the tissues in the roof of your mouth also relax as well. In the cause of relaxing, the tissues in the roof of your mouth could block your airway. The air coming through your throat is trapped in your airway causing these tissues to vibrate. This vibration is the snoring sound that comes out while you sleep. The snoring becomes louder as the tissues block your airway even further. This is how snoring occurs in the human body.
Why Do People Snore?
People snore for different reasons, some of which are natural. Snoring can be caused as a result of a narrow airway that occurs naturally. When people are born with a low soft palate, their airways are usually narrow and easily blocked. Obesity can also cause snoring as the presence of more tissues around the throat, narrows the airway causing regular blockage and snoring. Your sleeping position can also affect your airway and leaves it blocked. The way you position your head while sleeping is a very common factor. Nasal congestion is another cause of snoring, as it makes breathing difficult. Substances like tobacco and alcohol can also cause snoring, as they usually relax the muscles in the throat resulting in blocked airways during rest hours.
Effect Of Snoring On Dental Health
The major effect of snoring on dental health is a condition referred to as dry mouth. Dry mouth is scientifically called xerostomia. It is a condition in which there is a lack of salivary flow in the mouth. This condition is caused by snoring and could result in gum problems, sores, bad breath, burning mouth syndrome, and tooth cavities. All these problems require urgent dental care, to correct quickly. A dry mouth is dangerous because saliva is a very important component in the cleansing of the oral cavity. Saliva is responsible for flushing out dead cells in the mouth, washing the tongue as well as cleaning the gums. Saliva takes out food debris and bacteria from the mouth as well. When saliva is not available to carry out these cleaning functions, dead cells decompose in the mouth resulting in mouth odor and dental infections. Harmful germs grow in the mouth as well as sores and tooth cavities. There are good solutions for a snoring problem, and a visit to your dentist can do you a lot of good.
Conclusion
If your snoring is causing dental problems, you should visit a dentist in Campsie for urgent treatment. This will stop the problem from getting worse and help you get back to good health swiftly.