Snoring Therapy

Snoring affects millions of people of all ages, both male and female. Oral appliance therapy is the most common treatment for severe snoring problems. Treatment procedures range from changing your sleep patterns to utilizing orthodontic-related appliances that help open the airways during sleep.

The vibrations of your soft and/or hard tissue palates cause snoring. These vibrations occur because of increasingly narrow air passages. When air passes through these passages, a "flapping" sound occurs because the tissue is soft in nature. Surgery (to alleviate the snoring) is not always successful, however, because the sound may not originate from the soft palate; the snoring sometimes originates from tissues in the upper airway.

Common causes:

• Smoking
• Alcohol
• Health problems
• Obesity
• Obstructed nasal passages – deviated septum
• Poor muscle tone of the tongue
• Daytime fatigue
• Sleep apnea
• Hypothyroidism
• Allergies

Loud snorers may have a more severe case of blocked air passages, known as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). In these cases, the blockage of air is so significant that no air can get through, causing repeated awakenings throughout the night. Obstructive sleep apnea can contribute to or lead to many other conditions, such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, and depression, so it is essential to be diagnosed by a medical professional if you experience any sleep-related symptoms.