Who knew the shape of your palate could have an effect on your quality of sleep and a connection to heart attack and stroke risk?
Dental care providers are looking at palate shape as an indicator of certain health issues, including sleep apnea and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) results from an obstruction in the upper airway that causes the sufferer to awake often, never allowing their blood pressure to drop as it normally would. Dr. William H. Hang explains that, “OSA is essentially a structural problem relating to the fact that the maxilla and mandible are too far back.”[1] Sleep apnea would not be an issue, argues Hang, if the mouth were shaped correctly. Since between 65% and 80% of stroke victims suffer from OSA, and almost half of all OSA patients have high blood pressure, dental providers like Hang are on a campaign to increase public knowledge of the relationship.
So what causes a misshapen maxilla and mandible? The usual suspects are to blame: non-breastfed babies, diet, and pollution. Seems strange to think that food and chemicals, or allergens in the air we breathe, or whether or not we were breastfed could have an effect on the shape of our jaw and mouth, doesn’t it? But here’s how it works:
Babies who are breastfed are creating a natural formation of the tongue and mouth, resulting in a naturally shaped maxilla and mandible. But when babies drink from a bottle, use a pacifier, or suck their thumb or fingers, the unnatural shape of the mouth causes the oral cavity to collapse in on itself. This, in turn, creates an obstruction, which leads to sleep apnea.
According to Hang, an inadequate immune system contributes to the mis-formation of the mouth as well. And Hang blames diet and pollution. “Few children in industrialized societies eating the Western diet and breathing pollutants have adequate immune systems allowing them to combat the allergens well enough to maintain nasal breathing, maintain proper oral posture and, therefore, ideal facial growth.”
The AHA cites OSA as a major contributing factor in heart attack and stroke, but admit that the jury is still out on why. “Doctors don’t know whether sleep apnea elevates blood pressure because of repeated awakenings or because of drops in oxygen levels [in the blood]. It’s likely to be a combination of both,” explains Dr. Daniel Norman, M.D.[2]
But whatever the cause, sleep apnea is something that can be controlled. Dental care providers, like Dr. Hang, would prefer to see corrective measures, like braces. But many sufferers of OSA and other types of sleep apnea use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device. The CPAP works by delivering oxygen and air pressure to the device wearer during sleep. OSA sufferers normally don’t experience a drop in blood pressure while they sleep–since they don’t actually sleep. Using the CPAP device allows the OSA sufferer to experience that normal dip in blood pressure during sleep and, studies have suggested, blood pressure begins to lower overall after just a few weeks of use. With lower blood pressure comes a lower possibility of stroke or heart attack.
Want to read Dr. Hang’s blog? Find it here.
