 |
Snoring and sleepiness don’t seem to be serious problems so many people think that they don’t require a visit to the doctor. However, research has shown that this is not only a social problem but that frequent snoring doubles the risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes. Serious cases increase the risk up to three times! Dental medicine offers a solution.
THERAPEUTICAL OPTIONS
WHAT CAUSES SNORING?
Upper airways resemble a winding road with a few narrow spots which are maximally dilated while we are awake due to the muscle tonus. While we sleep, all body muscles relax, including those that keep the airways open.
Males over 40 can experience a special type of snoring. During the monotone rhythm of snoring there are periods of silence that last for several seconds and are followed by several very loud snoring sounds. What actually happens is that after a suspension of breathing that lasts for several seconds, the sleeper starts to wake up and gasps for air, which is why he snores so loudly a couple of times. This condition is called apnea and presents a particularly serious health problem.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF SNORING
In order to fight difficult oxygen supply due to the narrowed airways the heart works excessively and raises the blood pressure, which, after a number of years can induce the aforementioned consequences such as sleepiness, poor concentration during the day, high pressure risks, heart attack and stroke.
HOW DOES THE SILENSOR WORK?
The use of Silensor is not excluded even in cases when breathing through the nose is difficult or completely impossible, for example because of adenoids. Thanks to the way it is built, it doesn’t disturb breathing through the mouth.
It is important to mention that Silensor can even be made for partially toothless patients, although not for those completely toothless. In such cases it is impossible to attain complete stability of the prosthesis in its bedding so that the anti-snoring device can’t hold the jaw in the right position.
STATISTICS
Statistics show that at the age of thirty, 5% of women and 20% of men snore. At sixty, this percentage for both sexes is between 40 and 50%! It is generally calculated that a person spends 37% of his/her sleeping time throughout the years sleeping on their back, although that is the most inconvenient position for people who snore. The problem occurs more often with corpulent people and after consummation of alcohol and sedatives.
As it has already been mentioned, snoring poses a great social problem as well, because it can disturb snorer’s partner while resting, which makes them unpleasant for their environment. Some snorers make up to 85 decibels of noise, which equals the traffic noise. Now, try to imagine someone trying to fall asleep in the street! Not an easy task, you must agree. |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
There is a very effective solution today: a dental specialist can help you by making an adequate device, the so-called SILENSOR. In contrast to all the previous therapeutical options that were quite invasive, impractical and rather costly, the Silensor device is an oral mechanism most acceptable for the patient. It is small and comfortable to wear and therefore the least invasive method of therapy. Experience has shown that it is almost 100 % efficient in dealing with snoring and helps with apnea. 
The muscles of soft palate and tongue are exceptionally important for the mechanism that brings about the phenomenon of snoring. Soft palate lowers and the tongue, especially if we sleep on our back, falls towards the lateral part of pharynx thus narrowing the space. The air starts to flow more rapidly resulting in the vibration of the soft palate and its fringes which creates the sound well known as SNORING (image 1).
The principle is that the Silensor displaces the lower jaw slightly towards the front and prevents it and the tongue from falling back, thus keeping the airways open. 
|
