Have you ever woken up in the morning exhausted, even after getting eight hours of sleep? Does your spouse complain about your snoring? Do your teeth look worn or does your tongue have a scalloped imprint on the sides? Do you wake up most mornings with a headache? These are all common complaints I hear from patients. And it’s possible that they could all stem from airway concerns. If you are not breathing properly, you may not be living your best life, as restful sleep is one of the most important benchmarks for overall health. Most people try to counteract fatigue with coffee or longer sleep schedules, but without getting to the root of the issue, these efforts make little impact. A dental airway assessment can help you get on the correct path to discovering the root of your sleep issues and constant fatigue.
Key Takeaways
Common symptoms such as chronic snoring, daytime fatigue, headaches, poor sleep, brain fog, and mood disturbance may be related to constrictions. Dentists can conduct a dental airway assessment to evaluate tongue ties, proper lip closure, jaw positioning and size, alignment, tongue scalloping, tooth wear, palate shape, and airway space to see how they impact your overall health. Your dentist can then refer you to a provider who may be able to help you improve your symptoms. These assessments are simple, painless, and may lay the groundwork for significant improvements in overall health and quality of life.
Table of Contents
- What is a Dental Airway Assessment
- Signs an Airway Assessment Could Improve Your Health
- Benefits of Improving Your Airways
- How a Dentist Can Help Your Airways
- What is Included in Dr. Horkan’s Dental Wellness Exam?
What is a Dental Airway Assessment?
A dental airway assessment is part of our comprehensive dental exam that evaluates your risk for sleep-related breathing disorders and determines the need for further medical evaluation. During the exam, your dentist will look at tongue ties, proper lip closure, jaw positioning and size, alignment, tongue scalloping, tooth wear, palate shape, airway space, and more. At Montrose Dental Wellness, we understand that what we do can have a large impact on your airway health, and that’s why every patient gets an airway screening.
Signs an Airway Assessment Could Improve Your Health
All patients benefit from an airway assessment, especially those living at altitude where oxygen levels are lower. Sleep-related breathing disorders are tied to dozens of chronic health issues. Many people try to relieve these symptoms with coffee or energy drinks, nose strips or even makeup to cover dark circles under the eyes, when in fact the issue runs deeper. Getting to the root of your bad sleep or fatigue can significantly improve your quality of life.
- Chronic snoring
- Daytime fatigue or brain fog
- Mouth breathing or dry mouth
- Crowded teeth, narrow palate, or bite issues
- Headaches
- Restless sleep
- Night-time teeth grinding
- Cardiovascular disease
- Erectile dysfunction
- Gum disease
- Neurological diseases
- Mental health conditions
- Cancers
- Pregnancy complications
- Mood disturbances
- Cognitive impairment
- Insomnia and sleep disruption
- Nocturia (night-time urinating)
Additionally, women are more likely to present with atypical symptoms that lead to underdiagnosis. Hormone changes and menopause can also impact airway health and thus, many women are not being referred properly to sleep clinics.
Benefits of Improving Your Airways
On the surface, getting an airway assessment and following your dentist’s protocols, which may include a referral to a sleep specialist for evaluation, will put you on the fastest track to getting you the help you need to feel better—more energetic and ready to take on each day. On a deeper level, improving sleep disordered breathing and airway constrictions may significantly improve health in a number of ways, including:
- Child growth and development: Healthy airways in children support proper jaw growth, healthy facial structure, and proper arch size to help support non-crowded teeth and proper nasal breathing
- Improved sleep quality: Better airflow supports deeper, restorative sleep, one of the most important benchmarks for overall health. Inadequate sleep can lead to chronic disease, mental health issues, and suppressed immune function, among other problems.
- Enhanced overall health: Correcting airway issues can reduce the risk of chronic conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, mood disorders, and more.
- Better Oral Health: Proper nasal breathing, growth and development, and jaw size all contribute to a healthier mouth. Oral bacteria and inflammation are significantly impacted by mouth breathing and dry acidic environments. Gingivitis, cavities, and gum disease are all impacted by proper airways.
- Boosted energy and focus: Efficient breathing increases oxygen flow to the body, which means more energy to take on the day.
How a Dentist Can Help Your Airways
When dentists conduct an airway assessment, they look for benchmarks outside of the normal growth and development patterns of the face and oral cavity, which may indicate a compromised airway that is preventing you from getting the oxygen you need to live a healthy, energetic life.
Once a dentist identifies an airway concern, they may refer you to health professionals, such as a primary physician, sleep center, an ear, nose, and throat doctor (ENT) and/or a myofunctional therapist, to help evaluate and address the concerns. At Montrose Dental Wellness, Dr. Horkan has a trusted referral network and works with each patient to create a treatment plan tailored to your individual needs.
What is Included in Dr. Horkan’s Dental Wellness Exam?
An airway assessment is an essential component of Dr. Horkan’s dental wellness visit. Much more than just a routine cleaning and exam, a dental wellness visit at Montrose Dental Wellness is a comprehensive exam that checks your airway and other aspects that bridge oral health and whole body health, such as:
- Radiographs
- Jaw joint examination
- Gum disease screening
- Head and neck oral cancer screening
- Tooth examination to identify decay, cracks, fractures, wear, chemical erosion, abrasion, and breakdown of existing dental restorations
- Tooth and arch position review to ensure proper growth and development, and bite alignment
- Dental aesthetic review for color, shape, position, and gum display
Learn more about our dental wellness visits
If you’re constantly feeling fatigued, it’s time to get to the root of the problem, not just cover it up with coffee. Call us today to learn how an airway assessment can open the door to whole-body wellness—the better you breathe, the better you’ll feel!