Your head suddenly jerks forward and you’re greeted by an image of the open road. You take a trip every year with your friends to go see a part of Oklahoma you haven’t visited before. You all pile into the car full of enthusiasm while talking about past trips. You fell asleep in the car and started snoring, so much so that they needed to wake you up. It’s amusing to everyone except your partner who has to put up with it every night. If you could do something about your snoring, you would, but you don’t even know what causes it. It’s not like you can watch yourself when it happens. The team at Glisten Dental and Sleep Apnea Care want you to know what may be causing your snoring, as well as what you can do about it.

What Causes Snoring?

Snoring is a very common condition that affects about 90 million people. It is typically caused by the flow of air being partially blocked while you sleep. This can happen for a number of reasons:

• Congestion: If you are experiencing a cold or a sinus infection, this blockage can lead to snoring.
• Relaxed throat and tongue: This tissue can relax whenever you lay down to sleep and can partially obstruct the airway. The passing air causes it to vibrate, creating the iconic snoring sound.
• Weight: People who are overweight very often snore because they have a large amount of throat tissue that can affect how they breathe when they sleep.
• Tobacco and Alcohol: Both of these can lead to an increase of the production of mucus in the mouth and throat, as well as swelling and irritation, which can cause a blockage while you sleep.
• Large tissues in the mouth: If you have large tonsils, a long uvula, or an extended soft palate, all of these can cause snoring.

Snoring can simply be annoying or even indicate something as serious as sleep apnea. This is a condition where your airway can become fully blocked during the night and prevent you from breathing.  This can happen multiple times over the course of the night and not always wake the person up. In either case, both snoring and sleep apnea can make it hard for you and your loved ones to get restful sleep, which can lead to a host of health issues.

How To Treat Snoring

Other than sleeping on the couch for the rest of your life, one of the easiest ways to treat snoring is with a snoreguard in Tulsa, OK. This is a simple oral appliance that you would wear every night to bed in order to help curtail snoring. It works by slightly shifting your jaw forward so that the soft tissue of your mouth and throat cannot collapse into your airway. Every oral appliance is custom made for each patient using flexible and durable materials. They are comfortable and patients should be able to talk and drink normally while wearing them. Oral appliances have been shown to dramatically improve the sleep quality of 95% of patients who use them consistently.

Any Questions?

If you or your partner are suffering from snoring, please come see us today so we can help you rest tonight. Sleep is an important part of your health and we want to make sure it is well taken care of.