Snoring and sleep apnoea
Snoring is a breathing disorder that happens while you sleep due to the narrowing or total closure of your airway. When you’re asleep, the muscles that control your tongue and throat relax, narrowing the airway and allowing incoming air to vibrate over your top palate, uvula and throat, resulting in snoring.
Loud snoring may be a sign of a more serious problem – sleep apnoea.
What’s sleep apnoea?
It’s a serious sleep-related disorder where the upper airway becomes completely blocked, stopping breathing temporarily, until the brain detects the lack of oxygen and triggers the body to wake and breathe.
The possible side effects
Apart from feeling tired after a poor night’s rest, untreated sleep apnoea can increase your risk of:
- Daytime drowsiness
- Hypertension
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Memory loss
- Diabetes
- Depression
- Insomnia.
Sleep study
If you think you have sleep apnoea or have been told you snore, speak with your doctor who can assess and if necessary, refer you to a sleep specialist for a sleep study.
The sleep study normally takes one night and will either be done at your home or in a sleep lab. It will determine how severe your sleep apnoea is and what treatment will work.
If you’re diagnosed with mild to moderate sleep apnoea, your specialist may recommend mandibular advancement splints.
Mandibular Advancement Splints at Health Partners
How does it work?
The two splints are worn over your upper and lower teeth during the night, and when connected push the lower jaw slightly forward, helping to open up the airway by tightening the surrounding soft tissue and muscles of the upper airway. The tightening of these muscles prevents the upper airway from vibrating and stops snoring.
How’s it fitted?
Your Health Partners Dentist will:
- Take an impression of your upper and lower teeth.
- Use the impression to create your custom-fitted splints.
- Book a follow-up appointment to provide you with your splints and check they fit correctly and comfortably.
Posted: Jan 19 2021
Disclaimer
The information contained here is of a general nature and does not take into account your personal medical situation. The information is not a substitute for independent professional medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or used for therapeutic purposes. Should you require specific medical information, please seek advice from your healthcare practitioner. Health Partners does not accept any liability for any injury, loss or damage incurred by use of or reliance on the information provided.
While we have prepared the information carefully, we can’t guarantee that it is accurate, complete or up-to-date. And while we may mention goods or services provided by others, we aren’t specifically endorsing them and can’t accept responsibility for them.
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Health Partners is committed to providing quality and affordable health care, and we value our members and our obligation to protect your privacy. As part of our responsibility in protecting your privacy, from time to time we review our policies to ensure we are meeting our obligations. We have recently made some updates to our Privacy Policy. Please click here to view the Health Partners Privacy Policy.
© Copyright Health Partners. 2024 All Rights Reserved.
Health Partners is committed to providing quality and affordable health care, and we value our members and our obligation to protect your privacy. As part of our responsibility in protecting your privacy, from time to time we review our policies to ensure we are meeting our obligations. We have recently made some updates to our Privacy Policy. Please click here to view the Health Partners Privacy Policy.