Snoring

What Products Treat Snoring?

Treatment for snoring takes into account the fact that the passages in the back of your mouth, throat and nose are relaxed and then obstruct the airflow into your lungs, resulting in snoring.
The following treatment choices can be considered for snoring, although thought must be given to check that there are no underlying problems and no history of treatment.
Self-help for snoring
These self-help techniques might help with your breathing when sleeping:

• Sleep on your side
• Avoid alcohol and certain medications prior to sleeping
• Sleep propped up on a pillow to prevent your lower jaw from compressing your air passages
• Lose some excess weight

Using dilators and sprays to treat snoring

Plaster dilator strip

The plastic dilator is an adhesive strip that you stick across your nose. A flat band of plastic is inside the adhesive strip and it gently helps to dilate your nostrils when you are asleep to ease your breathing. These strips come in various sizes and colours.

Moulded nasal dilator

The moulded nasal dilator is a moulded springy plastic dilator that is designed to bend around and then fit into each of your nostrils and it works by keeping your nostrils dilated and thus reducing your need to breathe through your mouth.

Throat sprays

These sprays are used before going to sleep. By spraying into the back of your mouth, it coats the soft tissues of your airway, thus reducing its vibration when air passes over it when you are breathing at night.

Orthodontic prosthesis

These orthodontic devices consist of small plastic splints that look like gum shields. Sometimes called mandibular advancement splints, they are designed for you to wear them in your mouth at night and they work by holding your lower jaw slightly forward.
This then reduces the risk of your airway narrowing, as this narrowing causes soft-tissue vibration and the sound of your snoring. If the person who snores has healthy gums and teeth and a normal bite, then a prosthesis (or a mandibular advancer) might provide satisfactory results.

Boil and bite splints

These kinds of splints (which are otherwise known as mandibular advancers) are made of soft plastic which are softened by placing them in hot water. The snorer bites into the softened mouthpiece, thus moulding it to their jaw. Many of our clients find it is best to try a cheap boil-and-bite splint to see if it works well for them, prior to buying a more expensive (but more comfortable and better fitting) custom-made mouthpiece.

Custom-made mandibular advancement splints

These splints are made by taking impressions of your teeth with special plastic moulds which are then dispatched to specialist technicians to make the bespoke device for you and dispatch it back to you.
The price of these custom-made splints varies and this depends on the degree of lateral jaw movement, the adjustability level and the comfort they provide.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)

If your snoring is severe, it could be a symptom of a sleep issue known as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). This is where you stop breathing when you are sleeping and wake up intermittently. OSA makes you miss sleep and you feel constantly tired. This condition needs to be treated by your IPSA specialist.