Is Snoring Affecting Your Health?
Although sometimes discussed in a humorous manner, snoring can affect our health.
We have all seen the sketches on TV, where someone falls asleep snoring because the other person is boring them, or someone can’t get to sleep because of the ridiculously loud snoring of their partner. For some sufferers, snoring is anything but a laughing matter.
Of course, the lack of sleep caused by noisy snorers should not be taken lightly, and, especially over time, may cause them to become run down and more vulnerable to illness. What is less well acknowledged though, is the harm that snoring can do to the person who snores.
Health risks
Studies of snorers have shown that a sizeable percentage of them suffer from a condition known as Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. This causes pauses in breathing, whilst asleep, for anything from a few seconds to a full minute or more. Whilst this is not uncommon, those who this affects regularly have been shown to be at an increased risk of heart conditions.
If your partner snores, and especially if they end each pause in breath whilst asleep with a loud snore or snort, we do recommend that they seek medical advice in the first instance.
How we can help
At the Calverley Dental Practice, we are able to help those with mild cases of sleep apnoea through the use of anti snoring devices. These are easy to use and have proved to be very effective in preventing snoring, helping people (including suffering partners), to get a better night’s sleep.
The anti snoring devices that we supply are discreet gum shields which work by gently re-positioning the lower jaw. This helps to ensure that the throat remains open whilst you sleep, making breathing much easier. These cannot be bought ‘off the shelf’ and it is important that each patient undergoes a thorough assessment so that the devices can be made to fit individually. Follow up appointments will also be required to ensure that you are comfortable, and that the device is working as it should.
It is also worth noting that these appliances may also offer benefits for any of our Tunbridge Wells dental patients who habitually grind their teeth whilst they sleep. If you do this, please talk to us about it so that we can help you to prevent this potentially teeth damaging habit.
At the Calverley Dental Practice, we always take the time to look after our patients and are very happy to discuss any oral health problems that you might be having. This includes the oral cavity in general, and not just your teeth.
To arrange an assessment for an anti snoring device, or simply to have an oral health check, please call our Tunbridge Wells dentists on 01892 543898.