Snoring and Oral Appliances
Oral appliances devices are a common remedy for snoring and sleep apnea. Worn while sleeping, these dental devices place the lower jaw in a lower and more forward position. This movement enlarges the airway.
Benefits of Snoring Mouthpieces
By reducing the potential of blockage in the throat, these devices can be very effective in treating problem snoring and mild to moderate sleep apnea. The mouthpieces do not require any surgery or surgery.
What Causes Snoring?
Snoring happens when the flow of air through the mouth and nose is physically obstructed. Air flow can be obstructed by a combination of factors, including:
- Poor muscle tone in the throat and tongue: Throat and tongue muscles when sleeping can and fall back into the airway. This can result from normal sleep, alcohol consumption, or any sedative medication. Furthermore, normal aging causes decreases the muscle tone of these muscles.
- Obstructed nasal airways: People can snore only when they have a sinus infection or during allergy seasons. Also, deformities of the nose such as a deviated septum or nasal polyps can also cause obstruction.
- Obesity: Being overweight can cause bulky throat tissue.
- Long soft palate and/or uvula: A long soft palate or a long uvula (the dangling tissue in back of the mouth) can narrow the opening from the nose to the throat. When these structures vibrate and bump against one another the airway becomes obstructed, causing snoring.
Health Risks associated With Snoring
Habitual snorers can be at risk for serious health problems, including obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea creates several problems, including:
- Interruptions of breathing: Lasting from a few seconds to minutes) during sleep caused by partial or total obstruction or blockage of the airway. This leads to critically low levels of oxygen going to the brain, organs and body.
- Frequent waking from sleep to clear the obstruction to breath. However, sleep apnea patients do not realize they are waking up hundreds of times during the night.
- Light sleeping. Waking up so many times a night interferes with the normal pattern of sleep causing more time to be spent in light sleep than in more restorative, deeper sleep.
- Strain on the heart. Prolonged suffering from obstructive sleep apnea often results in higher blood pressure and may cause enlargement of the heart, with higher risks of heart attack and stroke.
- Poor night’s sleep. This leads to drowsiness during the day and can interfere with your quality of life and increase risk for car accidents.
Don’t struggle with snoring any longer. You don’t have to be suffer because your spouse snores. Come to the Pasadena Texas Sleep Clinic and get an evaluation. Let Dr. Nugent show you how we can deal with snoring. Call our office at 832-457-0647 today or come visit us at 3421 Burke Rd #1, Pasadena, Texas 77504.
