Five Ways to Help Your Patients Stop Snoring

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Snoring is more than just a nuisance that people are moderately inconvenienced by. It’s disruptive to sleep for both the sufferer and any potential partner they may have and may be a sign of the more serious malady that is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). With that being said, there is hope that you, as a dentist, can help your patients with their chronic snoring and get them on track to a healthier lifestyle. For instance, you can… 

Educate Them

As a medical professional, it’s your responsibility to keep your patients in-the-know with the possible dangers associated with any condition they may have. Ask them the right questions and talk to them about their risk factors and why their possible OSA could be possibly life-threatening. By giving them the tools they need to succeed, they can make informed, positive choices about their health that can drastically improve their quality of life.

Give Them A Mouthpiece 

In many cases, mild and moderate cases of OSA can be treated by simply giving them a custom night guard that helps adjust their mouth and airway to the point where it’s no longer obstructed. This can drastically help their quality of sleep, and will drastically reduce the negative comorbidities associated with sleep apnea and snoring (fatigue, depression, anxiety, teeth grinding, etc). 

best snoring solutionsGet Them To Sleep On Their Sides

In some cases, patients with sleep apnea develop various symptoms due to the position they sleep in at night. People who sleep on their backs, in particular, are especially heavy snorers due to obstructive tissue disrupting their airway. We recommend advising that your patient sleep on their side to reduce obstructions and stabilize their breathing, but again, this may vary from person to person. 

Encourage Healthier Habits

Certain habits, such as smoking and overeating, can drastically increase a person’s risk for developing and worsening their sleep apnea. In fact, the reason that OSA is such a difficult beast to shake is because a lot of the symptoms start from a lifetime of unhealthy habits, which result in a self-perpetuating cycle. For instance, overeating causes weight gain, which increases one’s risk for OSA, which again causes an increased appetite due to fatigue. 

Educate Yourself On Snoring And Sleep Apnea

What better way to help the people suffering in your area with apneic episodes than to become the resident professional. Sleep Group Solutions offers in-depth dental seminars hosted by some of the most influential people in the industry that go into great detail on the best practices for detecting and treating sleep apnea and implementing it into your business. We will discuss everything you need to know about how OSA relates to dentistry, and even give you hands-on training with state-of-the-art tools such as the pharyngometer, rhinometer, and ARES home sleep test that can give you the exact details of your patient’s condition. 

If you have any questions about what we do, or how you can get started on your own dental sleep medicine journey, give us a call at 1-888-608-4985, or visit our contact page. We will be happy to set you up with a seminar that works for your schedule and location.