If your partner or other people who live in your home have informed you that you always snore when you sleep, then you should talk about this issue with your dentist. Continue reading to find out why.
To ensure the oral dryness caused by snoring doesn't ruin your dental health
Whilst you might think that snoring is an innocuous issue that only causes problems for the people who have to sleep near you at night, the reality is that if you don't discuss it with your dentist and ask them to help you find a way to put an end to it, it could ruin your dental health. The reason for this is as follows; when you sleep with your mouth open and a stream of air is continuously flowing through your throat and mouth for hours on end, your oral tissues and teeth can get extremely dry.
Because saliva serves numerous important roles in protecting your oral health (for example, it washes away some of the microscopic food particles and plaque bacteria that contribute to tooth decay and removes other bacteria that would otherwise cause infections), the absence of it in your mouth each night could eventually leave your teeth riddled with cavities and might cause an upsurge in the number of oral infections you develop.
If you discuss this snoring issue with the dentist and mention the fact that you wake up each morning with a scratchy throat and an uncomfortably dry mouth, they might prescribe something that will keep your mouth moist whilst you sleep (such as xylitol-infused oral discs that stick to the roof of your mouth and release small amounts of xylitol, which can boost saliva production). Additionally, because it may take you a while to find a treatment that stops you from snoring, they may recommend getting check-ups more often in the meantime to ensure that any dental cavities brought on by the dryness are tackled before they get too big or cause abscesses.
To find out if they can make you an anti-snoring dental device
Your dentist might be able to make or order you a device that could stop you from snoring. This device is known as a mandibular advancement splint and is designed to reposition your mouth interior so that your airway remains fully open whilst you sleep and the air that you breathe out doesn't cause the tissues in your mouth to vibrate and make a snoring sound.
Whilst this device might not fix the dryness that your snoring issue causes (as you will still have to breathe through your mouth when you wear it) and may, therefore, have to be used in conjunction with the xylitol discs mentioned above, it could be very helpful if your snoring is so loud that it is disrupting your sleep by waking you up, or if it is causing your partner to become sleep deprived, as it should eliminate this annoying noise.
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