Magazines and TV commercials always seem to depict a refreshed individual waking up to the sound of their alarm clock, looking wide-eyed and ready to start their day. What? You mean that doesn’t sound like your typical morning? Well, you’re not alone…in fact, that probably doesn’t sound like most of us! While is it is normal to feel tired upon waking on occasion, it is not normal to wake up feeling completely exhausted. This could be an indication that there may be undiagnosed, underlying issues at hand. Night time should be a time of rest. If you snore, chances are you aren’t getting that deep sleep you need to wake up refreshed.
Snoring can be an annoyance but also can be a warning sign of something more serious, such as Chronic Obstructive Sleep Apnea, a disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep. In some cases, an individual with sleep apnea may wake up several times during the night gasping for air but may not remember doing so once they fully wake up in the morning – and often times these episodes are reported by a spouse or partner. In the meantime, the individual wakes up exhausted and will often experience daytime drowsiness.
Bruxism, on the other hand, is the term used to describe excessive force on teeth due to grinding or clenching. This generally occurs during sleep but can occur during the day and more so during periods of stress. Patients often wake up with headaches, jaw/facial pain or even earaches. So how are Sleep Apnea and Bruxism related? Current research is helping dentists link these two conditions.
What we already know about Bruxism is that it can be brought on by stress and anxiety, but it is also known that patients with Sleep Apnea often have anxiety and even depression from lack of sleep, which in turn escalates the grinding at night. In addition, dentists are now learning that airway dysfunction may not only play a key role in these conditions, but may also contribute to the development and/or presence of a variety of other dental conditions as well.