“What can we do for someone who snores?”

I am so excited to answer this question!! I want to jump up and down and shout “MAYBE SAVE THEIR LIFE!!” Let me tell you why. Snoring can be an indicator of a life-threatening disorder called Sleep Apnea. People with Sleep Apnea actually stop breathing multiple times an hour during sleep. This can lead to a number of serious consequences. These can include: – Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) – Heart Failure – Stroke – Diabetes – Mental Impairment – Depression – Erectile Dysfunction – Obesity – Increased risk of sudden Cardiac Death during sleep Because of these serious consequences life expectancy can be reduced by 20% to 30%. So instead of expecting to live to say 90 you would only be expected to live to 60! That is scary! Sleep Apnea also cause excessive day time tiredness making you significantly more at risk of being in a car or job site accident resulting in serious injury! So back to your question – What can we do for someone who snores? First we want to know if the person has Sleep Apnea. This is an easy take home test that we can set up for you. And yes – you get to do it at home in your own bed. If the test comes back positive for Sleep Apnea the treatment of choice is a CPAP machine that holds your airway open all night. Some people can’t tolerate the machine so that is where we come in. We can make a dental appliance that will also hold the airway open. If the person “just snores” we can also make the same appliance and mostly everyone else in the house is grateful as they can finally get some sleep as the snorer is quiet!

Posted in Sleep Apnea