Sleep Apnea

Although people who snore loudly are the target of bad jokes and middle of the night elbow thrusts, snoring is no laughing matter. Loud snoring can be a signal that something is seriously wrong with your breathing during sleep.

Snoring is a sign that air is not freely flowing through the throat passageway. The sound of snoring comes from efforts to force air through  narrowed passage. For most people, loud disruptive snoring is merely a social problem that may strain relationships. Yet for many adults, loud habitual snoring is the first indication of a potentially life threatening disorder: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Apnea is the pausing of airflow for more than 10 seconds while an individual is sleeping.  Depending on the recommendation of a sleep specialist, an oral appliance can be fabricated in our office to help with the problem. If you have not had a sleep study, there are some simple tests that we can give you which will help determine if you are a good candidate to have one done prior to any treatment. Contact our office for such an evaluation.

Loud snoring, with episodes of pauses and gasps during which the snorer struggles unsuccessfully to breathe, is a prominent symptom of OSA. Surgical intervention may be a viable alternative for particular patients; again under the recommendation of a sleep specialist. If the airway collapses at the soft palate, a laser assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) or a uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) may be helpful. In both procedures, the uvula and portions of the soft palate are resected to widen the airway.