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How Your Mouth Tries to Heal During Sleep
Posted on 7/7/2020 by Dr. Elizabeth Vivona
Sleeping is a period of time where your body is healing itself to prepare for the next day. During a sleep stage, your body is producing white blood cells that attack harmful bacteria. This is effective for dealing with sickness such as a cold or flu, but did you also know that your mouth is also part of this healing process?
Today, we will be discussing the various ways your mouth heals when you are sound asleep. If you are the type to stay up late and wake up early, you might want to change those habits!
Recovery
Your mouth can have many things happen to it, one of those things is known as canker sores - harmless, but painful sores that appear inside the mouth, usually below the bottom lip. Much like wounds, canker sores heal faster with sleep by using white blood cells to prevent the bacteria that are trying to halt the healing from taking over.
Another way sleep can help your mouth is when you are recovering from surgery. Taking it easy after surgery is the best way to cope with the healing process and sleeping for 8 hours at a time means an 8-hour window of pure recovery. If you recently had a surgical procedure, going to bed earlier if possible, will make the recovery easier for you.
Sleep Also Helps with A Clean Mouth
Not only does sleep aid with healing but sleeping can also help you keep a better mouth. Many folks rinse after brushing, but this is counterproductive. It is actually better to not rinse after spitting out toothpaste to ensure the fluoride sits on your teeth for the guaranteed 8 hours of no food, candy, or beverages entering your mouth.
If you would like to check up on your oral health, feel free to give our office a call and book an appointment!
What Our Patients Are Saying About Us.
"Without a doubt the best dental office I've ever been a patient of. The dentists and their hygienists are all very friendly and knowledgable, and they do their best to make you as comfortable as possible. I haven't tried other dentists in Eugene, but I know I'm not alone in my opinion here… definitely recommend!" ~ Timothy
"Dr. Vivona was recommended to me by a friend and I couldn't be happier with my experience. While I wish I didn't need dental work, my experience with her has been great. She takes her time to make sure she's properly diagnosing. While doing the work, she was gentle, thorough and explained everything along the way, making sure I was comfortable. I highly recommend her" ~ Audrey
"I was greeted as I was walking in the door by two wonderful assistants. The hygienist was wonderful and encouraging through the whole exam. Over all the staff is the best I’ve encountered through dental and would recommend Dr. Vivona to anyone looking for quality and gentle care." ~Kimmi
Sleeping is a period of time where your body is healing itself to prepare for the next day. During a sleep stage, your body is producing white blood cells that attack harmful bacteria. This is effective for dealing with sickness such as a cold or flu, but did you also know that your mouth is also part of this healing process?
