Patient Education - Snore Guards
For those who find it hard to sleep at night due to snoring, more restful sleep maybe in your future. A snore guard is a device that does not interfere with breathing through the mouth. Even in cases of congested nasal passages the device prevents snoring and allows uninhibited oral breathing.
What Causes Snoring?
During sleep, the muscles and soft tissues in the throat and mouth relax making
the breathing airway smaller. This decrease in the airway space increases the
velocity of air flowing through the airway during breathing. As the velocity
of required air is increased in the constricted space, soft tissues like the
soft palate and the uvula vibrate. These vibrations of the soft tissues in the
mouth and throat result in what is called noisy breathing or generally referred
to as snoring. It should also be noted that sleep studies have shown that excess
body weight, heavy alcohol consumption and other sedatives increase the severity of snoring. Surgical techniques to remove respiration
impairing structures such as uvula, enlarged tonsils and adenoids have been among
the many attempted snoring remedies. These soft tissue surgical procedures have
shown only moderate success rates (e.g. 20 to 40%). At certain levels of severity,
complete blockage of the airway space by the soft tissues and the tongue can
occur. If the period of asphyxiation lasts longer than 10 seconds, this is called
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). OSA can be a serious medical condition and your
dentist may refer you to a sleep specialist. For the majority of snorers however,
the most affordable, noninvasive, comfortable, and effective snoring solution
remains the dentist-prescribed oral snoring preventative device, such as a snoreguard.
How can a Snoreguard Help?
Snoring research has also shown that custom fabricated dental devices worn at night that moves the lower jaw into a forward position, increases the three dimensional space in the airway tube which reduces air velocity and soft tissue vibration. By increasing the volumetric capacity of the airway and preventing soft tissue vibrations, snoring is eliminated. In clinical research studies, these dentist-prescribed oral devices have exhibited initial snoring prevention success rates of between 70 to 100%. The snorguard device positions the lower jaw into a forward position by means of special connectors that are attached to transparent flexible upper & lower forms. The forms are custom laminated with heat and pressure to the dentists model of the mouth. The fit is excellent and comfortable.
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