You may be familiar with sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or bruxism. Did you know that sleep disorders can cause orofacial pain too? If you have visited your doctor and have been diagnosed with TMJ or some other cause of facial pain, it may actually be linked to a sleep disorder. Spark Sleep Solutions has a sleep apnea doctor in Santa Cruz who has been effectively re-diagnosing patients and providing solutions for years.
Sleep Apnea and Facial Pain
When you frequently stop breathing at night or awake suddenly, your facial muscles don’t have time to relax. Muscles that can’t relax remain tight and cause pain. If you have untreated sleep apnea, you may be waking up in the morning with a sore, stiff face.
Snoring and Orofacial Pain
When you snore, your lower jaw falls open and doesn’t close. When your snoring wakes you up, your lower jaw may close temporarily, but it doesn’t stay closed. This constant opening and closing of your jaw all night is akin to chewing in your sleep. It’s no surprise that you wake up with a sore lower face. Finding something to keep your mouth closed and let you breathe at night without snoring helps.
Bruxism
Bruxism is grinding your teeth while you sleep. There’s no definitive reason why people do this. It’s assumed that stress during the day causes you to release that stress by grinding your teeth at night.
Bay Area sleep apnea solutions offer devices to keep you from snoring and grinding your teeth. These solutions are simple to use and comfortable.
Trigeminal Neuropathy
Trigeminal neuropathy involves the trigeminal nerves that run along the sides of your face through the jaws and cheeks and into an insertion point in front of your ears. The nerves rapidly fire at night, causing shooting pain through your face. With no way to relax and calm that bioelectrical stimulation, you can’t sleep. The pain continues on and off all night as you turn from one side to the other trying to sleep.
If you are trying to sleep with a CPAP mask on, that’s even worse. CPAP masks are a reasonable solution for anyone who does not have trigeminal neuropathy. However, CPAP masks don’t work for patients with this nerve condition. You need something more from Bay Area sleep apnea solutions for a case like this.
Talking to a Sleep Apnea Doctor in Santa Cruz
Understanding the connection between chronic orofacial pain and sleep disorders isn’t a connection your regular doctor might make. It takes a specialist, like a sleep apnea doctor in Santa Cruz. A sleep apnea doctor can make the connections between the pain you are feeling and your sleep issues. Make an appointment to talk to a doctor at Spark Sleep Solutions in Santa Cruz today.