Snoring – how can our dentist help you to beat it? Read on to find out!

Are your ribs getting sore from being elbowed in the night by your irritated bed partner? Are you exhausted and short tempered with waking up suffering from a dry throat and a headache in the mornings? Do you snore?

If you do, you aren’t alone; as many as 7 in 10 adults snore at one point or another, usually due to infections of the throat or as a side effect of medication. But when you are a chronic snorer, this can impact on the sleep of both yourself and your partner, creating tension and irritation.

 But how on earth can a trip to see a dental team help to resolve night-time noise making?

At Spa Dental, our dentist Sydney can do far more than simply check for cavities and gum disease. We can also check for issues that may be causing you to snore and, if necessary, we can create personalised mouth guards to help you (and your partner) get those much needed 40 winks.

So, let’s explore how our dentist Sydney can help in a bit more depth.

What is snoring?

Almost everyone can identify the sound of snoring; it sounds similar to a grunt which is made repeatedly when someone is asleep, usually as they breathe in.

It is caused by air passing over relaxed muscles in your mouth and throat, which in turn creates a vibration or the sound of snoring. It is not possible, unfortunately, to un-relax the muscles in your mouth and throat, as this happens as part of falling asleep.

How can our team help?

So, how can our dentist Sydney help? We can assess the oral cavity for any causes of snoring, such as untreated dental infections and make an assessment of any growths that may be creating or exacerbating the noise.

We will also ask you about your lifestyle; do you smoke? Do you drink alcohol excessively and do you take any sedative medications? All of these can impact snoring.

If we have ruled out all possible causes of snoring, we may send you for an assessment in relation to sleep apnoea which is another cause of snoring, but one that is also a little more concerning.

Sleep apnoea

Sleep apnoea is a sleep issue that can cause you to intermittently stop breathing as you sleep; it can also worsen any issues that you may have with snoring.

It is thought to be linked to the softening of muscles in the throat and mouth as you sleep, but it causes the muscles to over relax and worsens issues with snoring and breathing.

Appliances

Our team at Spa Dental can create custom-fitted mouth guards to help keep your airways open, in cases of mild to moderate snoring and apnoea; these will hold your mouth open at an angle but will not be uncomfortable. 

Should you have a more extreme case, we can help you with a ‘continuous positive airway pressure’ (or CPAP) machine, which will continually apply air to your throat and mouth as you breathe via a mask. There by improving the quality of your sleep.

DISCLAIMER

All treatment carries risks. Individual consultation is required with one of our practitioners to ensure that the treatment is right for you.