You Don’t Have to Live with Snoring or a Snoring Significant Other! What is Somnodent, and How Can It Help You?
Snoring is a common problem but can be very disruptive to sleep, not only for the sufferer but for those close by! While everybody occasionally snores, usually because of allergies or a heavy cold, some people have a sleep disorder called sleep apnoea.
What Is Sleep Apnoea?
The most common form of sleep apnoea is called obstructive sleep apnoea. Normal snoring is usually quite regular, but with obstructive sleep apnoea, breathing stops completely often for several seconds until the body registers oxygen levels are falling and sends a signal to restart breathing. The pauses in breath are caused by the airway becoming blocked as the throat muscles relax while asleep, allowing the throat to collapse inwards. Usually, breathing restarts with a loud gasp or snort.
These episodes can occur hundreds of times a night, preventing restful sleep and potentially affecting overall health. Without proper sleep, the risk of serious conditions like heart disease, stroke, and diabetes can increase, so it’s important to get a proper diagnosis and sleep apnoea treatment.
Diagnosing obstructive sleep apnoea often requires an overnight stay at a sleep clinic, so your vital signs can be monitored. The data collected determines if you have mild, moderate or severe sleep apnoea. Somnodent is a dental appliance that can treat mild or moderate sleep apnoea.
What is Somnodent, and How Does it Work?
If you have mild or moderate sleep apnoea, we may suggest you use a Somnodent appliance that can be custom-made in our dental practice and is suitable for patients over age eighteen. This device is made from a plastic or acrylic material that is neutral tasting and odour-free using an impression of your teeth. The impression is cast up to create a model of your mouth so your Somnodent device can be custom-made to our exact specifications.
It works by moving the lower jaw forwards slightly, which helps to hold the airway open and prevents the tongue from flopping backwards. The design of the Somnodent appliance helps to improve airflow significantly so you can breathe freely and no longer snore or stop breathing during sleep. The oral appliance is small and comfortable to use as it doesn’t restrict your ability to open and close your mouth properly, speak clearly, drink water, and yawn. You can also easily take any medication while still wearing the appliance.
It is tempting to imagine that young athletes don’t have any problems with snoring and sleep apnoea, but a recent study a few years ago of university rugby players discovered they were more likely to suffer from sleep-disordered breathing than middle-aged men. The study also determined that athletes with sleep disordered breathing were more likely to have low oxygen levels in their blood and higher pulse rates during sleep. The finding suggests that athletes with sleep-disordered breathing may have a higher risk of heart abnormalities which could be a factor in why some seemingly healthy young athletes die suddenly from unexplained heart attacks.
Best Dentist Whilst Travelling.
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What Is Sleep-Disordered Breathing?
Sleep-disordered breathing, or SDB, is where people have abnormal breathing during sleep, ranging from snoring to sleep apnoea, where the airway partially or completely closes multiple times during sleep. The risk factors for SDB include being over age 40, having a high BMI and having a large neck circumference. Without treatment, people with SDB have an increased risk of developing chronic diseases that include type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and heart failure.
Researchers chose to study rugby players because they know they tend to have a higher BMI and larger neck circumferences than other athletes. They were interested in investigating the prevalence of SDB in collision sports athletics like rugby. The study followed 42 male rugby players aged between 18 and 19 and discovered that 43% of them met the criteria for SDB, experiencing pauses in breathing that lasted for at least 10 seconds five or more times over three hours. The study also assessed the performance of their heart and lungs at rest and during exercise to see if there were any signs of cardiovascular abnormalities. They discovered that the resting heart rate amongst athletes with SDB was higher than those without this condition. While none of the athletes was found to have serious heart problems just yet, it’s unknown if this could change as they age and if this could identify them as being at risk for cardiovascular complications later in life.
When someone young has sleep-disordered breathing, even if they are an athlete, it’s worth paying attention. The study concluded that a sleep study to assess for the presence of SDB breathing was worth considering when caring for collision sports athletes like rugby players or American football players.
While there may be a link between sleep apnoea and athletic performance, it certainly wouldn’t be fair to say that SDB can improve an athlete’s performance on the field. Instead, it can be an early warning sign of potential problems that could affect the athlete both now, in the case of sudden cardiac deaths in younger people and later in life.
Sleep Apnoea Is a Treatable Condition
Whether you are an athlete or a little older, sleep apnoea is a condition that is easy to diagnose and can be treated using a combination of oral appliances and possibly lifestyle modifications.
How Long Will I Need to Use Somnodent?
Some people find that wearing an oral device for sleep apnoea is only necessary for the short term, but for others, they will need to use it long-term. Sometimes, lifestyle changes like avoiding alcohol, smoking and losing any excess weight can help reduce the symptoms of sleep apnoea.
Somnodent is best used for obstructive sleep apnoea and is not suitable for other forms of sleep apnoea that can affect the nervous system. It is also unsuitable for anyone with severe periodontal disease, as wearing this device can cause changes to the way your teeth fit together, especially if teeth are already loose due to severe gum disease.