At Dentatime we offer an effective treatment for snoring and cases of sleep apnea with the help of the Silensor-sl snore-guard by ERKODENT.
Snoring and Sleep Apnea
Many of us have been through situations when you wake up with a headache, feeling sleepy, with dryness in your mouth, failing to concentrate and with a sense of fatigue overwhelming your day. These are only few of the symptoms characterising snoring and sleep apnea.
According to the latest research, more than half of the male population and one-third of the female population in Europe have been affected by these problems. Unfortunately however, 80% of these cases remain undiagnosed.
Snoring and sleep apnea can be the cause of a number of serious diseases and problems including chronic fatigue, stroke risk, diabetes type 2, metabolic syndrome and others. They are also turning into a social problem, as the quality of sleep deteriorates not only for the affected, but also for their partners in life.
What is snoring actually?
When sleeping, the muscle tone decreasеs and causes a narrowing of the upper respiratory tract. This narrowing accelerates the respiratory airflow, thereby various structures in the area of the upper respiratory tract start to vibrate and cause the snoring noise of up to 90 decibels compared to the 40 decibels of normal speech.
Snoring is the actual mechanical process that can be counteracted mechanically and this is where dental therapy comes into play.
What are the factors that cause snoring?
Most often snoring is caused by the following factors:
- Nasal and throat physiological problems.
- Smoking and alcohol.
- Obesity.
- Menopause.
- Allergies.
- Medications (most often tranquilants).
- Hereditary predisposition.
How is sleep apnea different?
While light or primary snoring does not appear to be a serious health issue, the abnormal snoring- sleep apnea, is indeed a serious disease. It can cause not only sleepiness during the day, but also serious systemic diseases.
Apnea is a total respiratory stop. The obstructive apnea is a complete occlusion of the respiratory tract. The hypopnea is a reduction of the respiratory flow by more than 50%. An apnea/hypopnea attack lasts between 5 and 20 seconds, after which normal breathing is restored until the next attack.
Sleep Apnea is characterised by typical symptoms.
These cycles can lead to severely deteriorated sleep quality. The most common symptoms of sleep apnea generally include:
- Daytime fatigue.
- Loud snoring, sudden awakening and breathlessness.
- Poor quality sleep.
- Morning headaches.
- Uncontrolled increase in blood pressure.
And it is not only sleep that apnea does affect, unfortunately, it is the overall health of a person, leading to changes in the metabolic function, increased blood pressure, accelerated pulse, fatigue, liver problems and others.
What is the most appropriate solution to sleep apnea and snoring treatment?
People are generally surprised to find out that the snoring and sleep apnea treatment is actually in the hands of the Dental experts. At Dentatime we have been helping patients for quite some time with a special snore-guard device known as the Silensor-sl, individually customized for patients with materials by the German company ERKODENT.
The Silensor-sl consists of one transparent splint for the upper jaw and one for the lower jaw. The lower jaw is either held in a predetermined position and advanced by 2 connectors that are fixed laterally to the splint. In this way, the Silensor-sl provides more space for the airflow through the respiratory tract. The speed of the inhaled air decreases and so do the noise-generating vibrations of the soft tissues.
With the Silensor-sl jaw movements are possible, still there is no falling-back of the lower jaw. This functionality of the Silensor-sl makes it a comfortable and at the same time effective snore-guard.
The Silensor-sl is worn only during sleep. Clinical tests have shown that the advancement of the lower jaw considerably reduces snoring at more than 80% of the patients and may reduce the apnea index at up to 50%.
What is the procedure at Dentatime for receiving a Silensor-sl device?
The procedure is really fast and simple – all you need to do is book an appointment at our Clinic so that we can conduct a check-up and take an impression. Your personal, customized Silensor-sl will be ready within a week for you to start wearing it.
You can book your appointment here or call us at (+359) 892 600 602.
The Dentatime Team