Although an estimated 45% of adults occasionally snore, it may indicate more sinister health concerns for some patients. The noise of snoring can range from quiet vibrations to more obnoxious whistling and grunting, depriving the brain of oxygen and disturbing bed partners from a night’s rest. Fortunately, there are many ways to tackle snoring challenges, from lifestyle changes to oral dental devices.
Why do people snore?
To best learn how to take control of your snoring episodes, it can be useful to understand what causes the body to make specific noises during the night. Snoring is caused by rattling and vibration of tissues in the airway, primarily towards the back of the throat, when muscles loosen during sleep and narrow the airflow. When inhaling and exhaling, these tissues flutter as air moves past them, creating the sound people know as snoring.
Main Causes Of Snoring
There are many reasons a person may develop a snoring problem or have occasional episodes from time to time. Poor muscle tones, bulky throat tissue, and a long soft palate or uvula can all contribute to snoring and other health problems, such as sleep apnea, a deviated septum, nasal complications, or infections. Additionally, your individual lifestyle choices, like alcohol consumption, weight, sleeping position, medication, and bedtime routine, are also common factors. Keeping a sleep diary of reported snoring episodes can help you to pinpoint the reasons for a noisy night and find a solution to rectifying repeated snoring issues.
Natural Remedies To Stop Snoring
Changing Sleep Position
One of the main culprits for snoring is a person’s sleeping position. We move around a lot during the night and sometimes lie in more unfavorable positions for the best night’s sleep. Lying on your back, for example, can cause the base of your tongue and soft palate to collapse to the back wall of the throat, leading to the vibrating sound of snoring. Sleeping on your side can help prevent this. If you find it difficult to maintain an ideal position during the night, there are pillows and devices available to help support the body in maintaining this.
Lose and Maintain a Healthy Weight
People of all shapes and sizes snore, but weight can play a large factor in the likelihood of frequent snoring problems. The internal diameter of the throat is squeezed when additional body mass is added to this area, making weight loss a realistic solution to reducing the likelihood of snoring.
Avoid Alcohol and Sedatives
Sedating drugs (such as sleeping pills) and alcohol may influence the muscles in the throat, leading to a resting tone forming during sleep. Drinking alcohol four to five hours before hitting the pillow can make even the quietest sleepers begin to snore and exacerbate the sounds of those who are more likely to snore already due to other health issues. For patients with sleep apnea, alcohol can worsen symptoms and make episodes more frequent. In terms of medication, it is important to discuss specific treatments with your medical practitioner, especially if they are known to cause drowsiness.
Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
Practicing good sleep hygiene can be beneficial to eradicating snoring and improving the overall quality of rest. Working long hours or continued sleep deprivation may mean you sleep deeper and harder, creating floppy muscles and which will lead to snoring. Getting a bedtime routine and a decent night’s rest can help ease snoring episodes and their frequency.
Oral Appliances: Devices To Stop Snoring
Oral dental devices are prescribed to hold the jaw slightly open and forward during sleep, allowing the air to flow freely through the airway and preventing a collapse of the tongue or soft tissues in the throat. For sleep apnea patients, this can reduce both ongoing symptoms caused by low oxygen levels and ease snoring. These devices are a low maintenance and less intrusion treatment method to the common CPAP machines, which require a mouthpiece to be fitted around the face for oxygen delivery.
Mandibular Advancement Devices
These adjustable, custom-made devices focus on the upper and lower teeth, repositioning the jaw, tongue, and soft palate to encourage the airways to open. As they are fitted to the individual, your doctor can fine-tune the device to the sizing and shape of your mouth, leading to optimal results when used within medical guidelines.
Tongue Retaining Devices
This type of oral device holds back the tongue, preventing it from falling into the airway. Similarly to mandibular appliances, they are also adjustable according to your unique mouth and jaw shape to provide a comfortable fit for the best results.
Hybrid Devices
Using the design and specifications of both the mandibular and tongue-retaining devices, this type of oral dental appliance holds the jaw and tongue in a forward position, helping to reduce snoring and apnea symptoms by keeping the airways open.
Oral Appliances: Benefits Of Using Anti Snoring Products
With many benefits on offer compared to more traditional treatment methods for sleep disorders, patients living with apnea and snoring issues are choosing to opt for oral device therapy methods to manage their condition for several reasons:
Firstly, oral devices are non-invasive
Small and discreet in design and fitted for optimal patient comfort, they offer a minimal risk of complication compared to surgery without the intrusive nature of long-term therapies like CPAP.
They are easy to fit and use
This convenient treatment option requires you to simply put the device in your mouth before going to sleep and remove it in the morning.
Oral devices can travel with you
Unlike more traditional forms of apnea therapy, such as the CPAP, oral devices can travel with you, offering a portable treatment option to stop apnea and snoring from getting in the way of overnight trips and planned holidays!
Doctors will customize your device to your unique needs
Oral devices are customized to fit your teeth, maximizing the effectiveness of the treatment. Our team creates a digital impression of your teeth to design a custom-fit device that is specific to your unique anatomy.
Effective treatment method
Oral device therapy has been shown to decrease the number of apnea episodes and hypopneas (partial blockages of the airway) and improve oxygenation during sleep. Many people find oral devices to be more comfortable than other treatment options, such as CPAP machines. This is due to their small size, making it easier for people to sleep comfortably.
Sleep Matters: When You Need The Best Product To Stop Snoring
If you’re interested in exploring oral appliance therapy to manage your sleep apnea and snoring concerns, the first step is to book a sleep health consultation with us. Our professional team assesses whether oral device therapy is the right treatment option for you and creates the ideal fit to provide a safe, effective, and comfortable alternative treatment method for apnea and snoring that the American Academy of Sleep Medicine endorses. Contact us today to find out more.