Sleep apnea is a condition or sleeping disorder that is considered to be a breathing interruption during sleep cycles. It is a condition in which there will be tissue collapse of the airway muscles due to various reasons such as being overweight or a large tongue. This is a condition in which the lungs are deprived of the required oxygen, and therefore, we need to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
There have been various researches in which it has been shown that there is a connection between dental health and sleep apnea. Your poor dental health can lead to sleep apnea. Therefore, in this article, we will understand what is the connection between dental health and sleep apnea in Ponte Vedra Beach. If you want more detailed information, then you can consult a Ponte Vedra Beach holistic dentist, who can guide you about how to resolve your dental issue in order to solve sleep apnea.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep Apnea is a situation in which the sleep cycle is disturbed very seriously. There is a breathing problem while sleeping because the required oxygen does not reach the lungs. Therefore, this creates disturbance in your sleep and leads to other health problems. Therefore, you need to consult a specialist doctor to solve this problem as soon as possible.
What are the Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea?
If you want to solve your sleep apnea problem, then you need to understand its signs and symptoms so that you can solve it as soon as possible. So, some of the common symptoms of sleep apnea are reduced breathing, frequent and loud snoring, gasping in the air while sleeping, forgetfulness, decrease in attention and also in concentration, daytime fatigue and sleepiness, dry mouth, sexual dysfunction, and nocturia issues. So, when you face any of these signs and symptoms, then you must consider consulting an experienced doctor to find out the main cause of the problem.
However, in many cases, it has been seen that sleep apnea is caused due to poor dental health, and therefore, it is essential to solve these issues with the help of an experienced doctor.
What is the Connection Between Dental Health and Sleep Apnea?
A good quality sleep is essential for you to keep your body healthy and also it will reduce your bad breath issue. Additionally, good sleep also helps in preventing mouth ulcers and periodontal diseases. Dental problems are associated with the sleep apnea issue and therefore, we need to understand the connection.
TMJ
There is various evidence that proves that temporomandibular joint disorder and sleep apnea issues go hand-in-hand. TMJ issue is related to jaw pain with the symptoms of pain in the head, neck, and shoulders, chewing issues, jaw cracking, or locked jaw and jaw pain. As per some research, it has been found that people having TMJ are more prone to sleep apnea. The risk increases by around 70% for people with the TMJ problem. 
Bruxism
Bruxism is a problem of teeth grinding or teeth clenching between the jaw. It frequently occurs to a person who is asleep. This can have a negative impact on your sleep especially when you wake up, you wake up unrefreshed or with pain, headache, and neck pain. Some reports prove bruxism increases the chance of sleep apnea by around 30%. Bruxism is related to sleep disorder because it can cause uncontrolled and involuntary movement in your body during sleep.
Mouth Breathing
Sleep apnea can be caused due to breathing problems through the mouth. When there is mouth breathing, then it can lead to dry mouth, tooth decay, and other such issues. It can also lead to gingivitis, mouth sores, and plaque, and therefore, we need to solve the mouth breathing issue because this plaque and gingivitis can lead to sleeping problems.
So, this is considered one of the important reasons for having sleep apnea due to dental issues. Therefore, whenever you face any dental issues, it would be better to consult an expert dentist and solve the issues as early as possible before they lead to sleeping disorder issues.