Is There a Treatment for Snoring?

There are a number of different causes of snoring, like the anatomy of a person’s mouth and sinuses, allergies, a cold, the person’s weight, or a jaw joint disorder. There’s another factor involved too: during sleep, the muscles in a person’s mouth, tongue, and throat relax, and this can also contribute to the problem. Generally, the problem is a narrowed or partially blocked airway. A sleep study can reveal the cause of a patient’s snoring, but so can a professional like one of ours here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders.

Some lifestyle changes, like losing weight, treating nasal congestion, avoiding sleep deprivation, and avoiding sleeping on your back can help with snoring. However, these lifestyle changes won’t necessarily address snoring if it’s accompanied by a jaw joint disorder or sleep apnea. In these cases, another approach is necessary.

Snoring accompanied by sleep apnea can be treated with CPAP therapy using a CPAP machine, but you might have issues with this kind of treatment. For one, the machine itself is big and bulky, so it’s difficult to use and move around unless you buy an expensive portable unit. Also, the machine can be too loud for some patients as well as their sleep partner. And finally, CPAP therapy requires the use of a mask or a nose piece at night, and this can be quite uncomfortable for a patient. Although CPAP therapy can be very effective for many patients, it isn’t so effective for others, and patients have to make compromises to their lifestyles.

An excellent alternative to CPAP therapy for snoring and sleep apnea is oral appliance therapy. It’s also especially effective for snoring accompanied by jaw joint disorder.

It really can be, yes. Oral appliance therapy uses a simple oral insert that can prevent the conditions that cause snoring and sleep apnea in the first place. It helps to keep a patient’s airway clear by helping the muscles in a person’s mouth, tongue, and throat rest in their natural position. Also, oral appliance therapy can correct issues with the anatomy of a person’s mouth, including a jaw joint disorder. These issues can often complicate snoring and sleep apnea. For many patients, after 3 months, oral appliance therapy relieves their symptoms by 90%. This is why the American Academy of Sleep Medicine approves of oral appliance therapy.

Many patients approve of oral appliance therapy too because it works, it’s very comfortable, and it’s easy to do. Their snoring is relieved along with other symptoms too, and their sleep apnea is relieved as well. As a treatment for snoring, oral appliance therapy is easy to recommend, and it’s what we recommend here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders.

To learn more about oral appliance therapy, get in touch with us at our clinic. We can see you for a consultation at one of our locations in Bloomington IL, Peoria/Dunlap IL, Mishawaka IN, Kansas City MO, El Paso TX and Wausau WI. You can call us or book a consultation with us on our Appointments page. We hope to hear from you soon and help you with your snoring so you (and the rest of the household) can sleep much better!