Snoring
Snoring can disrupt not only your partner’s sleep, but it can also be detrimental to you. Snoring happens when the air can’t flow freely through your throat, creating noise, and may even be a sign you have an unsafe condition called Sleep Apnoea.
Sleep Apnoea is where the throat becomes blocked during the night and you stop breathing for short periods of time. This may happen hundreds of times during the night and can often last for a minute or longer. Sleep Apnoea is a very serious condition that can result in extremely fragmented sleep of poor quality. It affects 24% of men, and 9% of women. It should be treated by a qualified physician.
How is it treated?
The SomnoMed MAS™ (Mandibular, or lower jaw, Advancement Splint) is an oral appliance, which fits over the upper and lower teeth, much like a sports mouthguard. It is a precision-made, clinically-tested medical device, which is highly effective (in most cases) in preventing snoring and mild to moderate sleep apnoea.
The splint is worn only at night. It is unique in that, unlike other oral appliances, it allows you to close your lips, so no one need know you are wearing it.
How does it work?
The SomnoMed MAS™ works by advancing the lower jaw forward. It is custom-made exclusively for you in Sydney, after taking moulds of your upper and lower teeth. The splint has components on either side of the upper plate, these can be used to make the device adjustable by providing incremental lower jaw advancement to the necessary degree, depending on the distance required to alleviate snoring and reduce your sleep apnoea.
Other problems that may be dentally related and worth coming in to speak to us about:
- Ear problems, such as ear pain, a feeling of pressure or fullness of the ear, or ringing ears.
- Whiplash and jaw pain.
- Headaches such as tension headaches.
- Bad posture
- Mouth breathing