Snoring is more than just a nuisance. Snoring is a sign that you are not able to breathe properly while sleeping. It is associated with some serious health risks, including sleep apnea. And it can be damaging to your most important relationships.

But you do not have to live with snoring. Nashville neuromuscular dentist Dr. Forbes has thoroughly studied the development and structure of your jaw and airway, and he can help you with a comfortable, convenient, effective snoring treatment. Dr. Forbes is accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine to help patients with sleep apnea and snoring problems.

If you are looking for an effective remedy to your snoring, please call (615) 383-6787 for an appointment at the Center for Advanced Dentistry in Nashville, TN.

Take Snoring Seriously

Many people consider snoring a joke. The noisy nuisance plays for laughs on TV and in movies. But snoring is actually a serious health risk.

It is one of the most common warnings of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a potentially deadly condition in which your breathing stops while you sleep. It has been associated with serious heart risks like high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. It may lead to metabolic, mental, and mood disorders. If you snore, you should get tested for sleep apnea, and if you have sleep apnea you need an effective, comfortable treatment.

It is also independently associated with hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). The vibrations from snoring cause tiny injuries in the arteries, especially the carotid arteries, starting the process of scarification and hardening. This could increase your stroke risk.

It is also a sign that your body isn’t getting enough oxygen. It is associated with poor sleep and low energy, independent of sleep apnea.

And we should not neglect the personal strife that snoring can cause. It is a leading cause of divorce and domestic violence.

Understanding It

Snoring occurs when your airway becomes narrowed, making it hard to bring in enough air to meet your body’s oxygen needs. As your body tries to draw in air, the airflow becomes turbulent in the narrow airway, which causes vibrations in your soft tissues. This vibration creates the sound of snoring.

Unlike sleep apnea, which mostly occurs because of obstructions in the throat and mouth, it can be associated with narrow airways in the nose. Your airways may be anatomically narrow, or they might be narrowed by inflammation or mucus excretions.

Or it could be related to obstruction by the soft palate, the tongue, or the tissues of the throat. This might be anatomical, often related to poor jaw development that can cause TMJ. It could be related to inflammation and mucus. Or it could be related to weight gain in the throat, which pushes the throat closed.

Effective Treatment

The most serious snoring occurs as a result of a throat that is narrowed by your tongue or the tissues of your throat sagging downward. Because your jaw is the most significant bony support in the area, we can leverage it to help ensure your airway stays open at night.

Mandibular advancement devices can move your jaw into a more supportive position, which allows you to breathe more easily. This reduces or eliminates the turbulent airflow and the vibrations that cause it.

Dr. Forbes’s extensive training in neuromuscular dentistry as well as his cross-training in medicine have given him a thorough understanding of the anatomy of the airway, making him an ideal choice for snoring treatment in Nashville. He offers several oral appliance options, including the MicrO2 appliance. This appliance is smaller than other oral appliances, making it more comfortable to wear, and giving you more tongue room. It’s also very easy to adjust. And it’s highly effective at treating snoring, making it a great choice for many people trying to control snoring.

If you are looking for a dentist to provide snoring treatment, please call (615) 383-6787 for an appointment at the Center for Advanced Dentistry in Nashville, TN.