Houston Sleep Dentist, Ronald W. Konig DDS, FAGD, LVIF discusses a recent article in the Huffington Post that states that bruxism means that you may have sleep apnea. Generally speaking, the article says that patients are grinding their teeth too brace the jaw and keep the tongue from falling back and blocking the airway. Whereas this is true is some cases, there are many other causes of bruxism including a bad bite and or TMJ problems. In many cases, the bite is not correct and this bite may be compressing the jaw back which is why patients brux. We see many patients who have bruxism and TMJ problems and do not have sleep apnea. Sometimes patients have nasal obstruction that presents another complicating factor, other times patients have TMJ problems and then grind their teeth which makes the teeth shorter. This in turn leaves less room for the tongue and then can lead to sleep apnea or UARS. In overview, there are times that bruxism may be due to to sleep apnea, however, there is much documented research showing other factors that also cause these issues. It is my opinion, that the sleep dentist and physician should both be aware of and knowledgable of all the factors in order to best assist their patients.
If you have any questions regarding Houston Dental Sleep Appliances or Houston TMJ, please feel free to contact our office, Ronald W. Konig DDS, FAGD, LVIF 713-668-2289.
