All photos: Sora ShimazakiThere are definitely some strange habits that we can fall into because of strong emotion or just pure boredom. More often than not, these habits then translate to our sleep, where we continue these habits and alter our health in a multitude of ways. Several of these habits can be related to the mouth, which is why we are going to look at strange nighttime habits that could be altering your oral health!
Grinding Your Teeth
Believe it or not, one in four people, and mostly women, will experience the issue of grinding their teeth while awake. For many, this is an unconscious act that directly translates to sleep.
Bruxism, which can also include clenching your teeth (we review that in a moment), is the issue of grinding your teeth. This habit can cause pieces of fillings to fall off and, in the most extreme cases, movement and cracking of the teeth!
Mouth Breathing
Believe me, it’s understandable! Sinuses are full, a deviated septum, and just plain habit can lead to mouth-breathing. The body is naturally inclined to breathe through the nose. But there are times when we can fall back on mouth breathing to get through the issues listed above, or sometimes just to catch our breath.
Here’s where it becomes a problem: dry mouth and low saliva can lead to bacteria growing in hyper drive and producing acids that eat away at teeth! In infants, mouth breathing leads to a loss of teeth sooner than they need to, and in adults it can lead to a higher frequency of cavities and tooth pain. This is why it is best to breathe through your nose: avoid oral health issues!
Clenching Your Teeth
While also related to bruxism and often connected with grinding your teeth, clenching is still slightly different and has even more issues that can pop up in the head region. Clenching often leads to additional issues with the jaw, especially because your jaw strength can be up to 250 pounds of pressure on one spot!
Constant pressure like this can lead to headaches, toothaches, jaw aches, and pain, as well as persistent headaches that can be debilitating. If you have a habit of clenching your teeth during stressful times, you will more than likely do this in your sleep as well. It’s a strange habit that causes long-term and short-term issues that leave you in pain.
Sucking on Your Thumb
Sucking your thumb can also take the form of constantly having the need to chew or suck on something. While this can be an oral fixation, constantly sucking your thumb or constantly making suction in your mouth can lead to other issues with your teeth and strain your neck as well.
Sucking your thumb or constantly sucking on something like a lollipop can lead to your teeth being out of place, just like it does with children. Now, the major difference is that adult ligaments and teeth placement are generally more set, but this can still happen and cause issues that may need to be fixed with adult braces or Invisalign.
Chewing/Biting Inside Your Mouth
Most commonly associated with those who have anxiety, chewing/biting of the inside of the mouth or lips can be very detrimental. This issue is often a daily habit that goes into the night and becomes automatic. Chewing on the inner parts of your mouth can lead to several issues, especially if you don’t keep your mouth clean.
Chewing or biting on the inner part of your mouth can lead to ulcers, sore areas, and even infections that can transfer to your teeth or even result in abscesses. While that is an extreme case, it is still something that you have to watch out for. You will still feel soreness and even pain in areas that are common chewing areas or ‘hot spots’.
Biting Your Tongue
This is something that can also be a daily habit that stalks its way into your sleep. It’s frustrating and very painful. The tongue is full of nerves, which is why it hurts so badly when you bite your tongue. You may have desensitized yourself to the pain that you normally feel! This leads to even more tongue biting and chewing during your sleep.
Just like biting the inside of your mouth, biting your tongue can lead to a scalloped tongue, ulcers, open sores, and more, which can all lead to infection of the tongue and increased pain and sensitivity.
Conclusion...
Our mouths, just like our gastrointestinal system, respond very heavily to anxiety and stress. This means that you are going to have to pay attention to what is going on in your life and make sure you watch yourself for these habits so that you don’t hurt your oral health.
