Most of the health problems faced by man can be detected at an early stage with a few minutes of a dental exam. For example, snoring is associated with dental health and may be a symptom of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The purpose of a dental exam is to detect the signs of sleep apnea. As a matter of fact, sleep apnea may cause a number of serious health conditions, such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease, high blood pressure, and heart attack.

Snoring and your sleep health

Your dental health speaks volumes about your quality of sleep. If you snore while sleeping, you are at a higher risk of OSA, which is short for obstructive sleep apnea. Unlike women, this condition affects a lot of men.

During sleep, snoring occurs due to the relaxation of your throat and mouth muscles. These muscles make your neck and throat vibrate. If the inner muscles don't switch on, your tongue may fall back into your airway. In some cases, snoring is a symptom of a blocked airway.

Snoring may reduce the oxygen flow to your brain and body. This can cause memory and behavioral problems, such as lack of concentration, irritability, brain fog, and so on.

The Signs of Snoring

Your doctor will run a test to find out if you have obstructive sleep apnea due to snoring. However, most of the symptoms can be detected with the help of a simple dental exam. Given below are some of the risk factors linked with OSA.

• Weaker short term memory

• Daytime tiredness

• Obesity

If you have any of these symptoms, you may want to consult your doctor. Given below are some other obvious symptoms of sleep apnea:

• Teeth sensitivity

• Dry mouth

• Teeth grinding

• Cheek biting

• Tongue scalloping

• Crooked teeth

After the test, if your dentist says that you have sleep apnea, you will be referred to a sleep specialist for further tests.

Treatment for Snoring and Sleep Apnea

There are many treatments for sleep apnea. For example, you can use a CPAP machine that makes use of positive pressure in order to help You get enough oxygen while you are sleeping. Based on the cause of your sleep apnea, the device can help you prevent your airway blockage.

Your tongue plays an important role while you are sleeping at night. Therefore, you can do tongue exercises in order to strengthen the airways supporting muscles. These myofunctional exercises can help you train your tongue to make your airways stay open while you are sleeping.

Early Detection Is paramount

In short, your dentist can exam your teeth to find out if you have been snoring or not. If you don't treat this problem, it may get worse over time. Therefore, you may want to have regular dental checkups to treat any serious health conditions that you may have.

Early detection of health complications is of paramount importance. Your dental health checkup will help you find out what is going on inside your body. Therefore, you may want to book an appointment with an expert dentist.