Your Dentist May Be Able To Stop Your Snoring!

Are you one of the estimated 90 million people that snore? Does snoring keep you or your partner awake at night? Did you know that a dentist can help? During sleep, soft tissues and muscles in the mouth and throat relax, moving the lower jaw further back. The result is a smaller airway and reduced air flow as you breath at your normal rate. Your soft palate and uvula along with other soft tissues vibrate in the smaller airway and cause an increased "sound" associated with our breathing. A snore guard is an appliance which aides in bringing the lower jaw forward as you sleep to increase the width of the airway and reduce the vibrations of the soft tissues. Ask your dentist if a snore guard may be right for you. Your dentist will take impressions and a bite registration that are used to create a model of your mouth. Transparent splints are molded to the model of your mouth using heat and pressure to ensure a perfect fit. Once the trays are completed, unique connectors are fastened to the upper and lower trays to allow minor progressive movements of the lower jaw while permitting normal breathing while you sleep. We asked our administrator Brooke about her experience using a snore guard:

"I have mild sleep apnea and I am a very loud snorer. I have been using the snore guard for three months and I have noticed a big improvement in my sleeping patterns! I sleep much better and wake up less through the night, leaving me feeling rested after a full night's sleep. My husband is happy that he is getting more sleep too, as the snore guard has almost eliminated any snoring!"