SNOREGUARD – SNORING
What is a SNOREGUARD ?
Snoring results from a partial closure of your airway during sleep. As your muscles relax your lower jaw falls backwards and as a result there is a vibration at the back of your mouth of the soft tissue.
Who SNORES?
Anyone can snore.
It happens more in men than women but after menopause the same number of women become snorers.
If you take sleeping tablets, anti-depressants, drink alcohol, take drugs or are overweight you are more likely to snore.
What effects can SNORING have on you?
- Broken sleep
- Increased blood pressure
- Headaches
- Lower sex drive
- Increased risk of diabetes
- Relationship problems
What options do you have to stop SNORING?
- Surgery – limited effectiveness, hospital stay and general anaesthetic.
- Facial mask which forces air down the air passage in your throat.
- Boil and bite mouth guards and sprays which are not often effective, have no longevity and little clinical evidence to support their use.
- Mandibular Advancement Splint (MAS) – recommended by NHS Dentist.
Under the NHS, there is a current waiting time of 6 months to 18 months depending on area for an initial consultation with a specialist. The referral can only be made to a sleep clinic if you suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) which is a serious condition if left untreated. You may receive a splint from the sleep clinic but it will not be of the same quality as the Sleepwell MAS. If you want to be referred to a sleep clinic, you have to do it through your G.P.
Surgery may also be provided under the NHS in the most extreme conditions and then only at a sleep clinic.
Boil and bite mouth guards can be purchased privately.
What does the ‘Sleepwell’ MAS do to stop me SNORING?
It gently holds the lower jaw slightly forward, which in turn opens the airway thereby preventing the vibration of soft tissue, which gives rise to snoring.
What are the benefits of a MAS?
- It is made especially for each patient by a dentist and is fitted properly to your mouth.
- It is guaranteed from breakages for one year.
- No surgery, just two appointments with your local dentist.
- A good night’s sleep for you and your partner.
- Well researched clinical data supporting the effectiveness of the product.
What are the side effects of a MAS?
It may feel tight or uncomfortable for the first few nights but the MAS has a regulating screw which you can use to adjust the movement of your jaw. However, the scientific trials of the splint showed that it was acceptable to 98% of patients.
You may find you have a bit of saliva on your pillow when you wake up.
What will NHS Dentist do?
- Make an appointment for you, ask you to pay the £50.00 consultation fee and give you the confidential pre-screening questionnaire to complete.
- At the appointment the dentist will analyse the questionnaire and decide whether it is appropriate for you to receive the MAS or if you need to have a sleep survey. – See below
- If you are an appropriate candidate for the MAS, you will have the moulds taken straight away for the splint. You will be asked to pay the remaining £335.00 at the end of this appointment.
- Approximately two weeks later you will have a shorter appointment to fit the splint. There will be no further cost.
What happens if I need a sleep survey?
You will only need a sleep survey if the dentist judges that you may have a more serious condition called Obstructive Sleep Apnoea or suffer from certain medical conditions which combine negatively with your score on the pre-screening.
You can then see your G.P. and ask to be referred to a sleep clinic or we can put you in contact with an organisation that can arrange a home sleep survey at the price of £190 + VAT. In this case, the results would then be analysed by a Sleep Physician (a medical doctor). They will then agree with you how to proceed and if it is recommended that you can still use a splint, NHS Dentist can make it for you following the procedure above.
What should I do now?
Make an appointment with with the clinic for a consultation, and take a pre-screening questionnaire home with you to complete. You will be ask you to pay the consultation fee of £50.00