Snoring affects millions of people of all ages, both male and female. Oral appliance therapy is the most common treatment for the most severe snoring problems. Treatment procedures range from changing your sleep patterns to utilizing orthodontic-related appliances that help open the airways during sleep.
What makes the sound of snoring?
Snoring is caused by the vibrations of your soft and/or hard tissue palates; these vibrations occur because of increasingly narrow air passages. When air passes through these passages, a “flapping” sound occurs because the tissue is soft in nature. Surgery (to alleviate the snoring) is not always successful, however, because the sound may not originate from the soft palate; the snoring sometimes originates from tissues in the upper airway.
Loud snorers may have a more serious case of blocked air passages, known as apnea.
Common causes:
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- Health problems
- Obesity
- Obstructed nasal passages – deviated septum
- Poor muscle tone of the tongue
- Daytime fatigue
- Sleep apnea
- Hypothyroidism
- Allergies