Snoring therapy in Berlin - we treat your snoring | Die Praxis Mitte
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Snore therapy

Every night we sleep to recover and restore ourselves. However, those who are snoring all night tend to have restless sleep and often wake up tired and exhausted in the morning. This doesn’t need to be the norm. With a dental splint (snoring splint) or other forms of snoring therapy, our dental practice in Berlin-Mitte can help you to sleep restfully through the whole night again. Furthermore, it is important to determine whether the snoring is in fact harmless or whether it is the so-called apnoea syndrome. This condition can lead to serious complications and must be treated at all costs.

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What is snoring?

While we sleep, the respiratory musculature relaxes. If this is the case with the tongue, the uvula and the soft palate, those organs can narrow the pharynx and upper airways and thereby even block the airflow while breathing. This causes the soft tissues to oscillate and vibrate. The airflow can only escape with difficulty, and the irregular airflow causes the typical snoring sound.

What can be the causes of snoring?

Snoring is a widespread phenomenon and is caused by various factors. Approximately 40% of women and 60% of men aged 60 and over are commonly affected. There are factors that can increase the likelihood of snoring. Those include anatomical factors such as an enlarged base of the tongue, soft palate, nasal concha, pharyngeal tonsils, or a curvature of the nasal septum. However, obesity can also cause snoring due to the accumulation of fat tissue in or around the throat, resulting in a narrowing of the airways. Furthermore, relaxants such as alcohol or other drugs can cause throat muscles to relax and start oscillating in the airflow.

When does snoring need to be treated?

Snoring is often not pathological, but merely annoying, and often does not require urgent treatment. However, how do you know whether snoring is rather harmless or serious? When snoring at night leads to sleeping problems such as waking up more frequently or even causing shortness of breath, we no longer speak of primary snoring, but of so-called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Here are a few questions to help identify this syndrome:

  • Do you snore every night or only sporadically?
  • Do you snore so loudly that it can be heard in another room?
  • Is your snoring explosive rather than “harmonic”?
  • Are there frequent pauses in your breathing, or is your breathing regular?
  • Is your sleep restless and interrupted by frequent awakenings?

If you have several of these questions answered in the affirmative, it is absolutely necessary to undergo a medical examination to determine whether you have obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Make a consultation appointment for snoring therapy in the Praxis Mitte in Berlin now!

What exactly is sleep apnea?

One speaks of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) when not only snoring sounds occur, but the airways narrow to the extent that the air supply is impaired, resulting in dangerous breathing pauses (which can last 30 to 50 seconds). This is a pathological condition. Unlike primary snoring, it leads to a reduced oxygen uptake by the body. This causes stress on the cardiovascular system. In extreme cases, breathing stops up to 600 times per night. Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition, and can lead not only to chronic sleep disorder and extreme fatigue, but also to high blood pressure, and event to strokes and heart attacks. If you or your partner experience such nocturnal breathing pauses, you should definitely consult a physician for a check-up.

What can be signs of poor restorative sleep?

There are some signs that indicate that you are not sleeping well. However, these do not automatically mean that you suffer from sleep apnoea. There can be many reasons for poor sleep. If you have several of these signs, feel free to talk to us at your next visit:

  • pronounced daytime fatigue
  • repeated awakenings during the night (especially with shortness of breath)
  • lack of concentration and memory problems
  • headaches and muscular tension
  • depressive moods
  • nocturnal sweating
  • grinding of the teeth
  • a dry mouth or sore throat in the morning
  • high blood pressure

How to prevent snoring?

There are many different therapeutic options to put an end to snoring. It is important to have a thorough medical examination and diagnosis to identify the exact causes and find an effective snoring therapy.

In mild cases, doctors advise a healthier lifestyle because obesity, alcohol, and smoking are often triggers for snoring. In many cases, weight reduction, physical exercise, a healthy diet and better sleep hygiene can lead to initial improvements. A controversial therapy is sleeping on the back, which is not always the best sleeping position for the individual. This is because the supine position is usually not the only reason for snoring.

If this is not enough, wearing an individual snoring splint is often recommended. Other options are the treatment with a pressure mask during sleep or surgical interventions by an ENT specialist or orthodontist, such as a jaw advancement.

How does a snore splint work?

Numerous studies show that anti-snoring splints are one of the most effective methods to reduce snoring and nocturnal breathing pauses. For this reason, snoring splints are often the first approach in sleep therapy to help patients regain peaceful nights and healthier sleep.

The removable and custom-made plastic snoring splint (also called a mandibular advancement splint) ensures that the lower jaw is kept up front and the airways remain clear. This prevents the base of the tongue from falling back into the throat and thus prevents snoring noises from occurring due to the narrowed airway. After only a short time, the symptoms are usually alleviated and sleep improves.

Feel free to consult us about sleep therapy and anti-snoring splints at your next appointment in our dental practice in Berlin-Mitte.

Do you have any further questions about snoring therapy?

We are happy to consult you personally in our Praxis Mitte in Berlin and answer all your questions about snoring and its treatment.

 

Make an appointment with our dentists today for a consultation. We look forward to your visit!