Complete Health Dentistry: How Important Is Airway Health to Overall Health?

Your airway health (or dysfunction) may have a significant impact on your overall health and sleep quality. Complete health dentistry focuses on whole-body health and offers solutions to certain issues faced by adults and children. Even if you are unsure of having airway problems, you may still be dealing with the effects.

Airway health and general wellbeing

Airway health is important and ensures that people can breathe properly through their noses. Breathing through the nose filters inhaled air and ensures the intake of nitric oxide, which raises blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, lowers breathing rate, and increases lung volume. Improving breathing techniques and airway health can have a huge impact on one's health and quality of life. The following are examples of importance of airway health.

• Proper mucous drainage: The nose produces about two pints of mucous every day. If the mucous does not discharge correctly, it can cause ear and sinus infections, as well as halitosis.
• Proper function of nitric oxide: During nasal inhalation, the paranasal sinus produces a considerable nitric oxide. Nitric oxide has many functions and is particularly lethal for bacteria, viruses, yeasts, and fungi in the nose and increases oxygen deposition in body tissues by 10-25% when it reaches the lungs.
• Effect on brain activity: Asymmetric nasal breathing has also been shown to result in asymmetric cerebral cortexes. Scientists discovered that unilateral forced breathing movements, such as those used in yoga and Ayurvedic medicine, might have an impact on sleep arousal, frequency, length, right or left-handedness, and lateralization conditions like schizophrenia and autism, but this is still debatable. The tiny hairs in the nasal airway are sensitive, and if they do not sense air pass over them, they alarm the brain.
• Effect on nervous system: The nose is intricately linked to the brain and nervous system, and it affects the lungs and heart, as well as the overall functioning of the body and the autonomic nervous system.
• Sense of smell: Smell and taste buds are inextricably linked. There will be a change of taste if there is something wrong with one's sense of smell. This may affect quality of life and create stress, changes in appetite, and weight problems.
• Snoring: While snoring can be harmless, a significant percentage of snorers have an exacerbated loss of oropharyngeal support, upper airway resistance syndrome, or obstructive sleep apnea.

Understanding the relevance of complete health dentistry

A dental consultation will start with outlining the office's policy on complete health and taking a comprehensive medical history of the patient. Although some of these questions might not seem to have anything to do with oral health, they are intended to detect systemic disease. The dentist will evaluate the patient's oral cavities, air passages, lifestyle, and other medical indicators to know how predisposed they are to health issues.

Final note

Fortunately, nearly everyone can improve their breathing, sleep, and airway health. The first step is to visit the dental office and undergo an evaluation in identifying airway conditions.

Request an appointment here: https://www.wellbeingdentistry.com or call Well Being Dentistry at (408) 244-0590 for an appointment in our Santa Clara office.