Snoring Snoring is caused by fluttering of the soft tissues at the back of your throat. As you sleep, your muscles relax and structures in the throat partially block your airway, causing the tissues of the soft palate and the tonsils to flap with each breath you take.

Snoring is most likely to occur if you are overweight or have excess soft tissue structure at the rear of your throat.

One option to help reduce snoring is a simple device worn during sleep. A right guard can be custom-made, which assists in repositioning the lower jaw, opening the airway to avoid the fluttering sounds produced as you breathe.

Sleep Apnea Sleep apnea is a serious condition whereby your breathing stops due to your airway being completely blocked. It is common among adults but is rare among children.

When you experience each apnea episode, your breathing will stop and your brain will tell your body to wake up to open the air passage. This may happen numerous times during the night and you won't necessarily wake up enough to realize what's happened. Due to this disruption in your sleep rhythm you will suffer each day from a severe lack of sleep. Often this condition can go unnoticed for many years and you may have accepted the exhaustion not knowing there could be a possible concern.

Treatment for Sleep Apnea at Aurora Dental At Aurora Dental, treatment of sleep apnea depends on the specific diagnosis and the severity of the apnea episodes. Oral appliances can be customized to prevent the tongue from sliding to the back of the throat, or fabricated to correct the position of the lower jaw to a more favorable forward position during sleep. Follow-up appointments are necessary to ensure fit and effectiveness. For mild-to- moderate cases, one or a combination of the treatments listed above has higher patient acceptance and is usually better tolerated than CPAP machine, In cases where is excessive tissue in the back of the throat, laser surgery may be need to remove the blockage.

Other things done at home along with an oral appliance will achieve maximum improvement. For example, sleeping on one's side maintains an open airway. Reduced consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and sedatives will improve breathing. Also, it has been shown that obese people are more likely to be diagnoses with sleep apnea, as the excessive fat around the neck constricts air pathways. So those who lose weight tend to respond better to treatment.

Indications of Sleep Apnea

• Frequent waking episodes at night
• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Loud snoring
• Aggressive sleep behavior - i.e. tossing and turning
• Disrupted breathing, gagging, gasping or choking for air during sleep

Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. If you feel you are at risk, please set up a consultation with Aurora Dental to do a preliminary evaluation.