{"id":5652,"date":"2023-07-14T22:41:15","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T15:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=5652"},"modified":"2023-07-14T22:41:15","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T15:41:15","slug":"the-connection-between-sleep-and-oral-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=5652","title":{"rendered":"The Connection Between Sleep and Oral Health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p> <span class=\"drop-cap__first text-dropcap \">I<\/span>f the eyes are the window to the soul, just look a little further down the face to find the doorway to your health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe mouth is the gateway to your body,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssmhealth.com\/find-a-doctor\/doctor-details\/kevin-ferguson-postol-dds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.ssmhealth.com\/find-a-doctor\/doctor-details\/kevin-ferguson-postol-dds\">Kevin Postol, DDS,<\/a>\u00a0the president-elect for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aadsm.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.aadsm.org\/\">American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine<\/a>. \u201cOral health is a lot of times a precursor of other things that are going on in your body. A healthy mouth will lead to a lot of other things about having a healthy body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another major factor in your overall health? Your sleeping habits. Getting a good night\u2019s sleep regulates your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-tips-from-experts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-tips-from-experts\/\">mood<\/a>, reduces stress, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/exercise-recovery-age\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/exercise-recovery-age\/\">restores your muscles<\/a>, while\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/neuroscientist-sleep-tips\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/neuroscientist-sleep-tips\/\">sleep deficiency<\/a> has been linked to a weakened immune system and serious conditions like heart disease. So for something that\u2019s so intricately connected to our overall health, it makes sense that sleep would show up in that \u201cgateway\u201d to our bodies\u2014our mouths\u2014too.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, sleep and oral health are directly connected. And your dentist has a front-row seat to how they could be impacting each other.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Postol looks for clues in a patient\u2019s mouth that could indicate they\u2019re having sleep problems. A smaller soft palette and arch of your teeth, as well as a tongue that has scalloped edges, might mean your anatomy predisposes you to an issue like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/waking-up-to-pee-sleep-apnea\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/waking-up-to-pee-sleep-apnea\/\">sleep apnea<\/a>. In that case, your tongue might not have room to rest at the top of your mouth like it&#8217;s supposed to (hence the scalloped edges from pressing against your teeth), which might cause it to fall backwards in your mouth, and disrupt your breathing at night.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content \" style=\"\" data-module-init=\"related-content\" data-module-immediate=\"\" v-cloak=\"\">\n<div class=\"related-content__wrapper \" v-cloak=\"\" :class=\"{'is-loaded':isLoaded}\">\n<p> <span class=\"inline pr-6 text-seafoam-dark\">Related Stories<\/span> <\/p>\n<p> <related-content class=\"related-content__links\" parent-article-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-and-oral-health\/\" current-title=\"One Surprising Place Where Your Poor Sleep Habits Could Turn Up? The Dentist\u2019s Office\" current-image=\"sleep-and-oral-health-425x285.jpg\" v-on:parsely-posts-loaded=\"onPostsLoaded\" start-date=\"2023-01-14\" tag=\"div\" inline-template=\"\" url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-and-oral-health\/\" secret=\"w5ztterVB03LGZJLfXS0hf3EvQBuFFIWew9hmVQxthU\" apikey=\"wellandgood.com\" limit=\"3\"> <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"related-content__card mb-[10px] sm:mb-[20px]\" :class=\"{'related-content__card--full':posts.length === 1}\" v-for=\"(post, key) in posts\"> <a v-on:click.prevent=\"trackLinkGA($event, key)\" :href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-and-oral-health\/post.url\" data-url-source=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content__link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content__card--image bg-tan\" :style=\"{ backgroundImage: 'url(' + post.image_url + ')' }\"> <img :src=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-and-oral-health\/post.image_url\" :alt=\"post.title\"\/> <\/div>\n<p> <\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/related-content> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Ground front bottom teeth could also mean you\u2019re shifting your jaw to compensate for trouble breathing, while ground down molars (grinding is called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/health\/conditions-and-diseases\/bruxism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/health\/conditions-and-diseases\/bruxism\">bruxism<\/a>), might mean stress and tension is impacting your zzzs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome people don&#8217;t sleep all night because of the fact that they might have some type of inflammation in the body or stress in their life at that point,\u201d Dr. Postol says. \u201cPeople will start clenching their teeth, and then they wake up a lot because they&#8217;re grinding on their teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A dry mouth could also indicate that you\u2019re mouth-breathing or snoring, a sign of disrupted sleep. Gum disease or cavities could indicate a weakened immune system, which can also be a signal that you\u2019re not getting enough sleep.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[These signs] can be a little wake-up call that maybe you need to address with the patient,\u201d Dr. Postol says. \u201cAre they sleeping well? Are they snoring? Are they having any health issues that we might be made aware of that might be linked to them possibly having a sleep issue?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Postol sees dentists as potentially your first line of defense in identifying sleep problems. \u201cMore people in the United States see dentists on a regular basis than they do their primary care physicians,\u201d Dr. Postol says. Paying our dentist a bi-annual visit is a great way to be proactive about your dental health, and your sleep health, too\u2014as long as, ya know, you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-happens-when-you-skip-dental-checkup\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-happens-when-you-skip-dental-checkup\/\">actually go to the dentist<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If the eyes are the window to the soul, just look a little further down the face to find the doorway to your health. \u201cThe mouth is the gateway to your body,\u201d says Kevin Postol, DDS,\u00a0the president-elect for the\u00a0American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. \u201cOral health is a lot of times a precursor of other &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}