Snoring Can Be Treated!

Have you been suffering in silence and unsure of how to treat your snoring, well you will be pleased to now there are solutions out there and you are not alone!

The British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association say that in the UK there are around 15 million snorers, and further research suggests that serial snorers are more likely to suffer adverse health conditions compared to non-snorers. The health risks include strokes, heart disease and serious injury. The last one probably just depends on how annoyed your partner gets that they can’t get to sleep because of the noise. But in all seriousness, it is important to find solutions to snoring that suit you and help lower the risk of these things happening.

Most of the solutions to snoring are simple life style changes such as losing weight, quitting smoking, sleeping on your side, not your back and reducing alcohol intake. Basically, limit anything that can potentially cause an obstruction to the air flow when we breathe. Snoring occurs when we cannot move air freely through our nose and mouth causing our surrounding tissues to vibrate, usually people that snore have excess tissue (floppy) tissue causing the vibration.

If none of the above solutions have worked for you, we would suggest visiting your dentist as they may be able to complete an examination and give you an idea if any of the soft tissues in your mouth that could be causing the obstruction to the air flow. For example, the size of your tongue and cheek tissues. There are appliances available that your dentist can construct to help improve or eliminate snoring. The appliance works by adjusting the position of certain tissues in the mouth to allow air to flow more freely. The initial appointment would be for a consultation, you will then need to return for an impression which is sent to a laboratory to construct the appliance. The next appointment will be to try the appliance in and demonstrate how to use the appliance and explain any specific instructions.

Your dentist would also be able to give you advise on making suitable lifestyle changes to help reduce snoring but there are solutions out there!