Snoring tends to be looked upon with humour, but for those of us who actually suffer from sleep deprivation caused by snoring it can be an annoying and often underestimated problem. Approximately 30 million Germans snore and suffer from the consequences of sleepless nights. Many people do not realise that snoring can be a symptom of a much more serious illness – sleep apnea.
Your windpipe is lined with muscles that keep the airway open. In some people, when these muscles relax during sleep, it partically blocks the airflow and interrupts the smooth passage of air into the lungs. As the air bounces around, it hits the relaxed, floppy tissues lining the throat and causes them to vibrate, like a flag in the wind. This is the snoring sound.
If the airway becomes completely blocked we stop breathing. This can happen up to 600 times a night. Amazingly the person suffering from sleep apnea is often unaware of it. Each time there is a blockage the brain signals the body to resume breathing. The quality of such fragmented sleep is extremely poor. The consequences can range from tiredness by day through headaches to high blood-pressure and even life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks and stroke.
Over the last few years the use of a lower jaw brace has proven to be successful in the treatment of snoring. This plastic brace, which is only worn during sleep, keeps the lower jaw from falling backwards which prevents your air passage from becoming blocked. The brace is individually fitted and can immediately help you to sleep soundly, without surgery or other lengthy treatments. The brace is suitable for all snorers not only those with sleep apnea. We already have a great many satisfied patients and their partners who now enjoy a peaceful and relaxing night's sleep.
We are qualified members of the German Society of Dental Sleep Therapy (Deutschen Gesellschaft zahnärztliche Schlafmedizin (DGZS) www.dgzs.de ).
