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Snoring…A not so Silent Epidemic... and
a Cure
Written
by Dr. Jeff Shnall
Have you ever been to a dinner
party when the topic of snoring came up? I have and it’s
amazing. It seems to me that at such occasions about half the
couples at the party complain about their snoring spouse.
Puzzling, the snorer’s frequent defence is “well, my snoring isn’t
bothering me!”
The long suffering spouse will
then explain how they cope with their snoring spouse:
I have heard: “I go
to bed first and try to fall asleep. As long as I fall asleep
first I’m okay. But if I’m not asleep by the time my snoring
partner goes to bed I’m in for a rough night. As soon as the
snorer’s head hit the pillow they fall asleep and then the noise
begins. And then I can’t fall asleep".
I have heard many strategies that the
non-snoring spouse adopts:
(i) Sleeping in a
separate bed across the room and throwing socks at their spouse
when the snoring awakes them
(ii) Ear plugs
And if all else
fails…
(iii) Separate
bedrooms
Now, I am a dentist, not a
marital therapist, but I suspect that separate bedrooms do nothing
to promote intimacy in a marriage or relationship.
So what is one to do about a
snoring spouse? Here is a solution that works very well and
is provided by your dentist. It is a snoring appliance;
however some have referred to it as a marital aid as it allows
couples that have been forced to sleep in separate rooms to again
sleep together in peace.
There
are many snoring appliances on the market but one appliance I have
had very good success with is called the SUAD
APPLIANCE.
I have personally provided this
appliance to many of my own patients with excellent results.
But I have also personally used the SUAD appliance to treat my own
problem snoring. Here is the story.
About
six or seven years ago my wife started to complain about my
snoring. Of course, I went through the usual stages that I
find people do go through when faced with the accusation that they
snore: first, denial. Snore? Me?
Impossible! That was something that my father did when I was
growing up. But me?
The
second step was trivialization. Although I knew my snoring
bothered my wife I didn’t really realize how bothersome it
was.
However, my wife, unlike other suffering spouses did not retreat to
another bedroom to sleep. Instead, whenever my snoring awoke
her she would wake me up and tell me “Jeff, you’re snoring.
Don’t sleep on your back! Roll over onto your
side.”
Sleeping on
one’s side is known to reduce snoring and I would oblige by rolling
onto my side. This would alleviate the snoring for a short
time until I rolled back onto my back and the snoring would start
again. Again this would awake my wife who would in turn wake
me up again. This pattern repeated many, many times a night
and for many nights until I was beginning to understand a simple
concept most snorers are reluctant to accept. It is
incredibly annoying to be awoken many times a night, whether by an
elbow or a partners snoring. So, I decided I would have to do
something to end my snoring so my wife and I could sleep in
peace.
Ironically, here I was a dentist who had made many snoring
appliances for my own patients who snored yet I resisted wearing
one myself. I knew the appliance would cure my snoring
problem but I was concerned that it could aggravate an old jaw
injury that I sustained as a kid.
.
First, a word about snoring: Snoring is most often
caused by the fact that when snorers sleep, our tongue
relaxes and falls to the back of our throat, closing off their
airway either partially or completely. The noise that snorers
produce is the sound of the air we breathe in or out passing
through the narrowed airway. This airway closure is more
likely to happen when snorers sleep on their back.
The snoring appliance is worn
in the mouth and is actually quite comfortable. It is similar
to an athletic mouth guard. It positions your lower  jaw into a more forward
position. The base of our tongue is attached to our lower
jaw, so by bringing the lower jaw forward, the back of our tongue
is brought forward. This opens the airway eliminating the
snoring.
As a
kid, I dislocated my jaw (sports injury) and it has clicked ever
since. As well, many years ago it would have a tendency to
lock and occasionally be sore. Luckily, my troublesome jaw
healed and had not given me any trouble for over twenty
years. So I really wanted to avoid wearing an appliance that
changed my jaw posture while I slept, which in normal jaws is very
safe.
So, to end my own problem
snoring I thought I would first try a few folk remedies. The
first was suggested to me by a dental receptionist I once worked
with when I first graduated. She sewed a tennis ball into the
back of her husband’s pyjama top. The tennis ball prevented
him from sleeping on his back and thus, no snoring. So I
tried this method. I sewed a tennis ball into the back of my
pyjama top. And what happened? The experiment lasted
one night. I had one of the worst night’s sleep of my entire
life. I found out that I must have really liked sleeping on
my back, for I remember waking up about five times an hour as I
rolled onto my preferred position. In the morning I was
exhausted, while my wife was joyful. She had a great night's
sleep! I didn’t snore at all!
Well,
needless to say I had to search for another solution. So,
when I retired for the night I stacked pillows in front of me and
behind me and I proceeded to try to fall asleep on my side. I
figured the pillows would prevent me from rolling on to my back as
they were wedged behind me. Well, it seemed like a good idea
but it didn’t work. I was once again sleeping on my back,
pillows strewn on the floor (I should have nailed them down), and
snoring…according to my wife.
Well,
it was time to try the dental snoring appliance (SUAD APPLIANCE)
and to put it simply, it worked like a charm. It did not, to
my relief, aggravate my old jaw injury and my wife and I could both
sleep restfully.
I have
been wearing my snoring appliance faithfully now for several
years. I can personally attest to its durability. It
has done its job night after night, has never needed a repair and
has even survived a bout of chewing by my sixty pound golden
retrieve-poodle mix. My dog had mistaken it for a chew
toy.
And
now a few final points.
1. A prediction:
One day wearing a dental appliance for snoring will be as common as
wearing eye glasses.
2. People who snore,
especially loud snorersmay also have a condition
known as obstructive sleep apnea.
If you have been diagnosed with
mild to moderate sleep apnea a dental appliance can improve your
symptoms and quality of life, but the first method of treatment for
this condition that should be considered is a CPAP
machine.
Obstructive Sleep apnea and snoring treatment is
discussed on my website in detail.If you would like to read the
article click on the following link:
http://www.beachdentistry.com/snoringapnea-appliance
Before you consider having a snoring appliance made please
read the important information contained in that article.
CPAP is the first device you
should try if you have been diagnosed with mild or moderate sleep
apnea, as it has been found to be the most effective treatment for
obstructive sleep apnea.
The SUAD appliance should
provide many years of restful sleep for you and your
partner.
Please
do yourself and your partner a favour and take the first step
towards a better night’s sleep: call our office for your
consultation to end your snoring now!
Sincerely,
Dr. Jeff
Shnall
tel: 416-691-2886
fax: 416-691-6847
e-mail: dr.shnall@gmail.com website:
www.beachdentistry.com
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