Do you always snore while sleeping? You might think snoring is normal, especially when sleeping after a hard day’s work. However, this habit can pose a problem when it becomes a nightly occurrence that disrupts your sleep. Luckily, some methods can help with snoring.
One is oral appliance therapy, a mouthpiece technique to keep your airway open and prevent snoring. But before you learn more about this therapy, you must understand the leading causes of snoring and how oral appliance therapy can help.
The Common Causes of Snoring
The main reason for snoring is always the same: airflow obstruction. Snoring happens when the air passage becomes partially blocked. This obstruction can be caused by any number of things, including:
- The common cold or flu
- A deviated septum
- Allergies
- Sleep apnea
- Bedtime medications
- Hormone imbalances
- Ageing
- Weight gain
- Anatomical abnormalities
For many people, snoring is a temporary condition. For example, your nose will be stuffed when you have a cold. This is a common enough occurrence that most people don’t even think twice about.
What Is Oral Appliance Therapy and How Does It Work
Oral appliance therapy (OAT) is a treatment option for people with sleep disorders that cause snoring and mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea. It can also treat severe sleep apnea for those that are CPAP intolerant. It’s a type of mouthpiece that you wear during sleep to keep your airway open.
Oral appliance therapy is becoming an increasingly popular treatment for snoring as sleep apnea, as they are shown to be both effective and well tolerated.
The Benefits of Oral Appliance Therapy
There’s a wide range of advantages when using oral appliance therapy to help with snoring.
1. Low Inputs
Oral appliance therapy is by far the best treatment option available to those with an active, outdoors or travel filled lifestyle. Unlike CPAP Machines, they require no hook up to power or clean water, and easily fit into your toiletry bag for travel.
Oral appliances are durable, lasting an average of 5 years and very rarely require replacement parts in their lifetime. CPAP Machines and masks requires replacements parts every 6-12 months.
2. Safe for Children
While there are specially designed CPAP masks for children, it is generally difficult to get children to sleep comfortably with a CPAP. They also tend to take the masks off and it can be hard to convince them to keep them on if they are not comfortable.
Oral appliance therapy is less invasive by nature and more well tolerated by children. It can be designed in stages to allow growth and changes in the palette as well.
3. Affordable
This therapy has a similar upfront cost to CPAP therapy, but there are no follow up replacement parts that need to be purchased over the life of the device. This means that after 5 years of wear, an oral appliance is less expensive than a CPAP machine by as much as $1000.
Final Thoughts
Oral appliance therapy can be an effective treatment to help you with snoring. It can treat mild to moderate sleep apnea and can be an alternative to other treatments such as surgery and CPAP. In addition, oral appliance therapy is safe, effective, and comfortable, even for children and during pregnancy.
Sleep Better Live Better is a company you can rely on to help you with snoring. Our qualified sleep team has helped thousands of patients find healthy sleep solutions for their issues. Book a consultation today!
