Snoring and sleep apnoea

Snoring doesn’t just disturb other people in the household. It can be a sign of undiagnosed sleep apnoea, a condition that can cause serious health issues.

Snoring

Snoring occurs when:

• the muscles of the throat relax, sagging into the airway space and causing narrowing of the upper airway
• vibration of these sagging tissues produces a noise. 

Sleep apnoea

Sleep apnoea is when breathing is interrupted during sleep, sometimes for many seconds. It causes interrupted sleep and many health issues.

When sleep apnoea is suspected, our dentists will refer the patient to a sleep physician for a sleep study. The sleep physician will diagnose the presence and severity of sleep apnoea and recommend treatments. These may include:

• improvements to general health, such as:
  • weight management
  • increased exercise
  • reduction or cessation of unhelpful lifestyle habits, including smoking and alcohol consumption,
• increasing airflow during sleep via:
  • a CPAP machine
  • an oral appliance (known as a Mandibular Advancement Splint). 

If an oral appliance is required, Richmond Road Dental can help. In our practice, Dr Elaine Lim provides Mandibular Advancement Splints (or MAS) to help reposition the jaw and open the airway. 

Resources about snoring

Downloadable fact sheets about snoring and sleep apnoea

• Snoring and sleep apnoea (PDF, 275 KB) – An information sheet produced by Richmond Road Dental