Snoring Therapy

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

Common Causes of Snoring

Snoring is caused by the vibrations of your soft and/or hard tissue palates. These vibrations occur because of increasingly narrow air passages where air passes through and creates a "flapping" sound because the tissue is soft in nature. Surgery is sometimes recommended to alleviate the snoring, but is not always successful 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

Sleep Apnea

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