Is Snoring Affecting your Sleep?

Snoring may seem like a simple annoyance, especially if your sleeping partner’s snoring is preventing you from sleeping. However, snoring can be a sign of a more serious health condition, sleep apnea.

Snoring occurs when the muscles of the throat relax and the tongue falls backward into the throat while you sleep. As these muscles relax they cause a narrowing of the airway. This narrowing of the airway restricts airflow which causes the walls of the throat to vibrate during breathing resulting in the snoring sound. In some individuals this narrowing can completely block the airway causing breathing to stop. The medical term for brief periods of recurrent cessation of breathing caused by blockage of the airway is sleep apnea. This is associated with excessive daytime sleepiness. Sleep apnea can be a very serious condition and requires evaluation by a sleep physician.

However, if snoring only happens occasionally and does not result in daytime fatigue it is recommended that you try the following steps before seeking an evaluation by a sleep physician.

1. Lose weight
2. Avoid tranquilizers, sleeping pills, antihistamines
3. Avoid alcohol four hours before sleep and avoid eating three hours before bed.
4. Establish a regular sleeping routine and bedtime
5. Sleep on your side instead of your back.

If snoring continues to affect you or your sleeping partner a custom oral appliance may be the solution you need. An oral appliance is prescribed by a physician and is fitted and adjusted by your dentist. An oral appliance works by holding your airway open which allows unobstructed breathing and therefore better sleep. The custom oral appliance is fitted by your dentist to your upper and lower teeth. The appliance works by pulling the lower jaw forward and results in an open airway which allows everyone better sleep.