Snoring is the disruptive, loud noise that hinders you or your spouse from getting a good night’s sleep in the middle of the night. Almost everyone snores occasionally, but for a few individuals, it can become a chronic problem that makes their partner uncomfortable and causes emotional conflict.
Snoring can occasionally be little more than a bother, but it can also be an indication of an increasingly severe medical problem. Therefore, if you or your spouse snores frequently, it’s crucial to understand the origins, symptoms, and snoring treatment in NW Calgary and the indications for consulting a doctor.
Causes of Snoring
As you fall asleep, your muscles loosen. Your airway may occasionally become blocked when the tissues in the rear of your mouth collapse. You snore because the movement of the air across your relaxed tissue causes the tissue to vibrate.
Your snoring gets louder when your airway closes up. Snoring doesn’t happen when you’re awake since it only happens when your face and throat are completely relaxed. For starters, snoring results from a sore throat brought on by allergies or a cold.
Along with blocked nasal passages and a deviated septum, swollen, expanded, or bulging sinuses can also contribute to or exacerbate snoring. Alcohol is a tranquillizer that softens the muscles in the throat. Therefore, drinking it might cause snoring.
Other risk factors include:
- Drug intake
- Smoking habits
- A deviated septum
- Sleeping posture
- Persistent congestion
- OSA (Obstructive sleep apnea)
Snoring-Related Health Risks
Snoring may be considered an uncomfortable or humiliating side effect of sleeping. But before you dismiss your snoring as normal, consider the following health risks that a dentist near you might also mention:
- The more you snore and the longer you snore each night, the higher your long-term risk of stroke.
- Sleep apnea can lead to heart attacks by triggering cardiovascular issues, including coronary artery disease and excessive blood pressure.
- People who snore or have sleep apnea for a long time are at risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm or arrhythmia.
- GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, is highly common among patients who have sleep apnea.
- One of the more serious risks of sleep loss induced by snoring or sleep apnea is physical damage. Daytime sleepiness can be so severe that it endangers you and those around you.
- Sleep apnea can tamper with your mental health, causing symptoms ranging from crankiness to a lack of sleep to severe depression.
- Researchers discovered a link between frequent morning headaches and insomnia with sleep apnea.
- Many people are so bothered by their snoring that they are unable to have sexual interactions with their partners.
- Snoring during the third trimester of pregnancy is commonly caused by weight gain. The increased risk of fetal problems is of greater concern.
- Getting up twice or more during the night to use the bathroom is a condition known as nocturia. This disorder is brought on by snoring.
Surgical and Non-Surgical Treatments
Surgical Options
1. CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure)
This method entails sleeping with a mask over your nose or mouth. The mask distributes pressured air from a small bedside pump to keep your airway open while sleeping. CPAP stops snoring and is most commonly used to treat snoring when OSA accompanies it.
Although CPAP is the most dependable and successful snoring treatment near you, some people find it uncomfortable or have difficulty adjusting to the machine’s noise or feel.
2. Operating Upper Air Path
A variety of techniques are used to open the top airway to avoid severe constriction during sleep. For example, in uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), you’ll be sedated, and your surgeon will tighten and remove excess tissues from your throat—effectively a throat facelift. Another technique, called maxillomandibular advancement (MMA), involves pushing the top and bottom jaws ahead to help clear the airway.
A low-level radiofrequency signal is used in radiofrequency tissue ablation to dissolve tissue in the soft tissue of the palate, tongue, or nose. A newer surgical method known as hypoglossal nerve stimulation involves applying a stimulus to the nerve that governs the advancing motion of the tongue in order to prevent the tongue from blocking the passageway when you take a breath.
The success of various procedures varies, and the outcome can take time to anticipate.
Non-Surgical Options
Your dentist in NW Calgary will most likely first propose lifestyle adjustments that will alleviate your snoring, such as:
- Weight loss
- Wearing oral appliances
- Avoiding alcohol before bedtime
- Nasal congestion treatment
- Preventing sleep deprivation
- Avoiding back-side sleeping
Get a Better, Restful Sleep – Visit Our Clinic Today!
If you or your beloved are fed up with snoring, consult us about snoring treatments at home and further testing. Snoring tests are often performed at home, with additional testing available at our dental facility when needed.
Make an appointment here at Royal Vista Dental with one of our qualified physicians to appropriately address your health concerns.