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Treatment of Snoring

Treatment of Snoring
Treatment for Snoring

Treatment of Snoring & Sleep Apnoea

Getting a good night’s sleep is crucial to living a healthy, balanced life. When we sleep our bodies recharge, helping them to recover from the activity of the previous day and get ready to do it all over again tomorrow. But it can be harder than we might think to get a restful sleep every night.

Many individuals across Australia suffer from conditions, such as snoring or sleep apnoea, that impact the quality and length of their sleep.

Snoring can be an annoying condition on its own (especially for those who sleep near you), but it can have more wide-reaching and long-term effects on your overall health and wellbeing.

Frequent snorers can experience weight gain, nagging headaches throughout the morning, daytime fatigue and sleepiness and a noticeable effect on memory and their ability to concentrate, all because they aren’t sleeping well.

Combatting snoring can be as easy as changing the position in which you sleep. Those who sleep on their backs often snore throughout the night, as the muscles at the back of the throat relax as they fall asleep causing their airway to become partially obstructed. Propping your head up to a slightly higher angle or sleeping on your side are two simple ways you can try to beat your snoring.

Snoring can also be a major symptom of a more serious condition known as sleep apnoea. Caused by a partial or complete blockage of the throat, sleep apnoea can prevent an individual from breathing for over a minute.

This blockage leads to several interruptions in sleep every night, with the individual often waking briefly and returning to sleep without being aware of it. Common symptoms include frequent tossing and turning during the night and waking suddenly feeling out of breath or gasping for air.

Much like common snoring, these disruptions to a healthy sleep cycle have lasting effects during the day, with sufferers often waking not feeling adequately rested or feeling lethargic, tired or like they are easily running out of energy.

Those who suffer from sleep apnoea are also at a higher risk of developing diabetes, heart failure or suffering from a stroke than those who have deeper and uninterrupted sleep patterns.

A lower quality of sleep overall can also leave individuals at a higher risk of mood swings, sudden personality changes or depression, and in some cases has been known to contribute to impotence in men.

Here at the Melbourne TMJ Centre we work to help patients of all ages, and from right across the city, find the correct treatment plan to reduce or relieve the effects of snoring and sleep apnoea.

Our staff are leaders in the field with over three decades of collective experience, providing patients with a targeted and non-invasive treatment plan that allows them to enjoy a full and restful night’s sleep.

At our Armadale clinic you will be able to consult with all of the relevant medical specialists needed to diagnose or treat your sleep apnoea. This ensures a more straightforward and efficient treatment plan, with patients able to avoid having to visit specialists at various clinics and then wait for the transfer of documents or medical reports between practitioners.

To learn more about how your quality of sleep is affecting your health, or to speak with our experienced staff about our in-demand snoring treatments, Toorak, Armadale and Malvern residents, and patients in the surrounding suburbs, can contact the Melbourne TMJ & Facial Pain Centre™ today.

Sleep Apnoea & Snoring Treatment in Armadale, Malvern, Prahran & Toorak

Are you tired of having night after night of poor or interrupted sleep? Do you find that tiredness or exhaustion is keeping you from going about your daily life, or affecting both your physical and mental health?

While these conditions can be caused by a number of different factors and variables, one of the most common causes of restless sleep is snoring or sleep apnoea.

At the Melbourne TMJ & Facial Pain Centre™ we can help you to find the right treatment to improve the quality of your sleep.

The first step of any treatment is the diagnosis. Many patients often aren’t aware that they have sleep apnoea, simply putting their breathing difficulties at night down to their snoring or believing their tiredness throughout the day to be caused by other stresses or influences in their lives.

The staff at Melbourne TMJ & Facial Pain Centre™ work closely with each of our patients to understand the cause of their poor sleep patterns. Through a comprehensive initial consultation our friendly and qualified staff will be able to quickly and accurately determine the cause of your disrupted sleep, and whether or not they do suffer from sleep apnoea.

When it comes to professional and stress-free sleep apnoea treatment, Armadale and Prahran residents want to work with the best. That’s why they turn to the team at Melbourne TMJ & Facial Pain Centre™.

We are proud to be one of the most sought-after clinics across Melbourne for personalised sleep treatments and patient care, with our staff working tirelessly to help everyone who comes through our doors to experience the benefits of a good and healthy night’s sleep.

We know that no two patients, or cases, are the same. That’s why we don’t offer any kind of ‘one size fits all’ treatment plan. Instead we take the time to truly understand our patients’ symptoms and circumstances, allowing our practitioners to prescribe a course of treatment that will deliver swift and lasting results.

Our treatment plans range from suggesting proper sleep hygiene habits (e.g. avoiding caffeine at night), sleeping positions (and pillows or bedding that can assist with that), or referring for CPAP machine therapy for nightly, at-home treatments.

However our most commonly prescribed form of treatment is a device known as a MAS, or mandibular advancement splint. This mouthguard-like device is custom-made to fit comfortably into the patient’s mouth, gently repositioning the bottom jaw and allowing for a clear and unobstructed passage of air all night long.

In some rare circumstances, surgery may be warranted. We only recommend surgery as a final resort and would rather provide our patients with non-invasive and cost-effective treatment plans than suggest a course of surgery that does not always help to treat the very root cause of the issue.

For premier snoring and sleep apnoea treatments, Toorak and Malvern residents know to book a consultation with the relatable and dedicated staff at Melbourne TMJ & Facial Pain Centre™. Call 03 9824 8868 today for all enquiries.

Please watch the following video from Channel 7 News on treating OSA with MAS

Seep apnoea

If you often wake up feeling like you haven’t slept you might be one of the growing number of Australians with sleep apnoea. For the majority of sufferers a diagnosis has meant wearing a bulky breathing mask to bed. But now there’s a much smaller alternative.

More Info: http://bit.ly/2teLnNX

#SleepApnoea #7News

Posted by 7 News Sydney on Sunday, 17 June 2018

What Else May Be Helpful
CPAP
  • CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) is a breathing machine connected to a facial mask which covers either the mouth, nose, or both. CPAP works by delivering air under pressure to keep the airways open. CPAP is considered to be the “gold standard” of managing snoring and OSA (especially in severe OSA). However, many people find CPAP bulky, uncomfortable, difficult to sleep with and noisy. Studies of people who use CPAP show on average, approximately 40% will use CPAP, and those that do, don’t even use it every night. People with severe OSA and health issues who can’t use CPAP can still achieve successful outcomes with a customised MAS.
Weight Loss
  • There is a close relationship between weight gain/loss and the severity of OSA. 90% of obese people have OSA. Studies have shown that reducing your weight by 10% can reduce the severity of OSA by 26%. Weight gain tends to deposit fat around the neck, tongue and soft palate, reducing the size of the airway. However, for some OSA sufferers, it can be difficult to lose weight because their weight regulation hormones aren’t being controlled properly due to poor sleep. In these circumstances, managing your OSA and improving your sleep, can make it easier to lose weight.
Surgery
  • Surgery is not commonly recommended for managing snoring and OSA. Most common surgeries involve cutting away or tightening excess soft tissue around the throat and/or tongue. It is highly invasive, and not always successful. Research shows surgery is only 30-50% effective in stopping snoring.
  • In some circumstances, nasal or sinus surgery may be beneficial if the person has difficulty breathing through the nose (e.g. deviated septum, chronic sinusitis, enlarged nasal turbinates). Removal of enlarged tonsils and adenoids can also help in people with chronic tonsil/adenoid issues.
Sleeping position
  • Snoring and OSA most commonly occurs when people sleep on their back. Due to gravity, the bottom jaw and tongue fall back more when lying on your back. Sleeping on your side, or elevating your head/neck can prevent the bottom jaw from falling back and closing the airway.

Next Steps

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