Snoring and Sleep Apnoea

Snoring is the hoarse or harsh sounds that occurs when air flows past relaxed tissues in your throat, causing the tissues to vibrate as you breathe. The narrower your airway becomes, the greater the vibration and the louder your snoring. 

Snoring is often associated with a sleep disorder called obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). 

Treatment 

To treat your snoring treatment can include;

• Losing weight
• Avoiding alcohol close to bedtime
• Treating nasal congestion
• Avoiding sleeping on your back 

Dr Joseph Ryan specialises in Oral Appliance Therapy.

Sleep apneoa is a potentially life-threatening sleep disorder characterised by repeated pauses in breathing during sleep. Breathing pauses can last anywhere from several seconds to minutes, and happen as often as 30 times or more per hour. Ongoing disrupted breathing causes an imbalance between the carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the bloodstream, as not enough carbon dioxide is exiting and not enough oxygen is entering the body.

Sleep Apnoea can increase the risk of developing a number of medical condition;

• High blood pressure
• Heart attack
• Irregular heartbeats
• Stroke
• Tooth grinding and clenching
• Depression
• Anxiety 
• Daytime fatigue 

Signs and Symptoms 

• Loud snoring
• Gasping or choking at night
• Stop breathing
• Unrefreshed sleep
• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Morning headaches
• Problems with memory and concentration
• Awakening with a  dry mouth or sore throat
• Heartburn
• Irritability, depression, mood, behavioural and personality changes

Treatment

Treatment often includes lifestyle changes, such as weight loss and the use of a breathing assistance device at night, such as a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine.

Oral Appliance Therapy

Oral appliance therapy is often used when the patient is unable to tolerate CPAP therapy.  It has been proven to be very effective for snoring and those suffering mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnoea. Also oral appliance therapy may be utilised in the patient with severe obstructive sleep apnoea who are unable to tolerate or refuse CPAP therapy.  There are two types of oral appliance therapy:  Mandibular Advancement Appliance– is the most common type of oral appliance used. They are also known as Mandibular Advancement Splint or Mandibular Repositioning Device. 

Oral appliances are devices that can be used to treat some people who have mild or moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and snoring or those with severe OSA who have failed with CPAP therapy. There are different types of oral appliances. Common ones include: Mandibular Advancement Devices (MAD), Mandibular Advancement Splints (MAS), Mandibular Repositioning Appliances (MRA), or Tongue Retaining Devices (TRD).

Oral appliances work by pushing or pulling your lower jaw forward. By doing this, your tongue is kept in a position that does not block your airway. This reduces the risk of snoring or that your tongue may obstruct your airway during sleep. If this device is helping you, the sound of snoring should be gone entirely or lessened. 

Other accepted treatments for snoring, SDB and OSA that should be considered by sufferers, include lifestyle changes (e.g weight loss, sleep hygiene etc), behavioural modification, continuous positive airway pressures (CPAP) and surgical procedures.

I already have a dental splint. Will this treat my sleep apnoea?

A splint and a mandibular advancement appliance are very different oral appliances. They treat different conditions. A splint is usually used to assist in the treatment of tooth grinding, jaw clicking and/or jaw pain. Some splint designs may actually exacerbate snoring. A mandibular advancement appliance is specifically use to treat snoring and/or sleep apnoea. It may also assist in reduction of tooth wear due to grinding as the teeth are usually covered by the appliances.