Perhaps the last thing you would associate your chronic mouth pain with is a sleep disorder. But according to experts, there exists a direct connection. In fact, lots of chronic pain conditions from chronic neck pain to lower back pain can be connected directly or indirectly to your sleeping patterns, or lack thereof.
If you’re experiencing chronic mouth pain and suspect a sleep disorder might be contributing, consulting with a cosmetic dentist in marlborough who is familiar with the connection between sleep and oral health can be a valuable first step. They can assess your situation and recommend appropriate treatment options.
No matter what the variety, chronic pain can render you feeling hopeless and physically spent. Says the pros at Macomb Pain Management in Michigan, you might be asking yourself, will my chronic pain ever disappear?
But after a few agonizing months, you might feel like it’s never going to disappear. Your early hope stages suddenly surrender to despair and hopelessness. But the good news is that chronic pain, be it in the mouth, or anywhere else on your body, can go away. That’s where a pain management clinic can be a lifesaver.
But what about chronic mouth pain? Is there a direct connection between sleep disorders and oral health? According to a new report by Dentistry IQ, the answer is a stunning yes. Sleep is considered one of the most mysterious yet essential aspects of maintaining a healthy mind and body, or so any pain management clinician will attest.
And yet certain studies prove that an estimated 50 to 70 million U.S. adults suffer from sleep disorders. Many of those experiencing chronic poor sleep are said to suffer from sleep apnea or insomnia or a combination of both. The impact of these conditions can result in a reduction of your quality of life and can cause a variety of painful long-term health problems. One of these problems is chronic mouth pain.
Insomnia and Chronic Mouth Pain
Insomnia is said to affect up to 30 percent of the U.S. population. A chronic lack of proper sleep is directly linked to a major 36 percent increase in periodontitis. Also, the reduced sleep that insomnia causes can mean there will be diminished saliva production, which your mouth requires to produce healthy gums and teeth.
People who can’t sleep tend to get out of bed, head to the kitchen, and indulge in snacks. This, Night Eating Syndrome (NES), contributes to weight gain and inevitably, depression. It can also break down tooth enamel since it’s common for physically exhausted insomniacs to skip out on brushing their teeth after eating in the middle of the night.
Sleep apnea and Chronic Mouth Pain
Sleep apnea is the second most common sleep disorder. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is said to occur when your oxygen levels fall and you wake up having no recollection of it, or in many cases, both.
This condition can result in an array of bad negative health issues, quite a few of them linked to your overall oral health. People with OSA have a tendency to breathe through their mouths. This is because the mouth acts as the path of least resistance when it comes to airflow. But did you know that chronic mouth-breathing can not only lead to bad breath but also alterations in your facial structure?
There’s a 50-50 chance that those who suffer from teeth grinding or bruxism also suffer from OSA. Taken a step further, it’s likely that those with mild to moderate OSA have severe bruxism. Lastly, those persons who possess a high risk of OSA are also three times more likely to suffer from TMJ disorder or temporomandibular joint dysfunction.
What to Do About Your Chronic Oral Pain
Says Dentistry IQ, the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine highly recommends that most dental patients be screened for clinical sleep disorders like sleep apnea. Those persons who screen positively need to be tested. If diagnosed, they can be treated with oral appliance therapy (CPAP).
But in a perfect world patients should seek out sleep physicians and dentists who enjoy a bilateral professional relationship with one another. In a hyper-perfect world, patients will want to seek out sleep physicians, dentists, and pain management clinics that share professional working relationships.
When you consider the likelihood of TMJ, bruxism, and periodontitis in sleep disorder patients, there remains strong clinical justification for sleep patients to see a dentist if they are showing any physical signs of periodontal disease and are suffering from chronic pain as a result. These patients can either rely on a rigid program of chemical pain blockers, which can result in negative side effects, or they can consult with a reputable pain management clinic that can offer a more holistic approach to managing their persistent pain.