I have had a rather extraordinary experience over the years and it has been repeated countless numbers of times it is inevitable. Whether I am at a business meeting, a social gathering, an athletic event, etc., if it becomes known to the crowd around me that I have an expertise in sleep disorders and snoring, people want to talk about it exclusively and always ask for my business card. People everywhere want a snoring cure.



Why is finding a snoring cure so important?

When we fall asleep at night, our brains go through a highly regimented program. At the beginning, we drop into what is called the first stage of sleep. This is a dozing state wherein our brain starts to slow down. After a while, we drop into the next deeper stage of sleep, Stage II. Then as time passes, it's on to Stage III and finally to Stage IV which is the deepest stage of sleep. Every once in a while throughout the night we also experience something called REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement).

As it turns out, each stage of sleep plays a specific role in generating hormones that rejuvenate our bodies. Now for the urgency of finding a snoring cure. Snoring disrupts the brain's ability to cycle through all of the stages of sleep. It not only continuously arouses the snorer, but also anybody who is sleeping with or within earshot of the snorer. Poor sleep results in daytime fatigue, irritability, memory loss, and a host of other conditions that demand a snoring cure.

Attempts at a snoring cure.

Ear, Nose and Throat surgeons have been trying for years to come up with procedures that can provide a snoring cure. All of these procedures (UPPP, LAUP, Pillar, Somnoplasty) have the same general goal: to reduce the volume or add more rigidity to the "snoring tissues" in order to prevent them from collapsing into the airway during sleep. There have been limited and unpredictable successes that have not seemed to hold up long term.

Other mechanical devices or strategies such as nose clips, chin straps, sprays, and tennis balls in pajama tops are also not viable. CPAP therapy where patients wear a mask attached to a blower is considered the gold standard as a snoring cure and treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. While CPAPs work well, they are bulky, uncomfortable and cosmetically imposing so patient compliance percentage is relatively low (approximately 40%).

A very viable approach to a snoring cure!

There has been much excitement in the disordered sleep community in recent years over oral appliance therapy. Anti-Snoring Mouthpieces have been demonstrated to be very effective as a snoring cure. These devices are custom fit over the upper and lower teeth and are joined in such a fashion as to pull the mandible (lower jaw) forward. When the lower jaw is pulled forward, it opens up the airway in the back of the throat and when the airway is open and unobstructed, snoring is significantly reduced or totally eliminated. This, by definition, becomes a snoring cure.