Searching for a snoring remedy? Try a simple, cheap dental device   

There is no universal cure for snoring, which is why our web site lists 100+ snoring remedies.  One solution often rejected by the "socially incorrect" snorer (our term for those whose snoring problem does not appear to reflect any underlying sleep disorder) is the wearing of a plastic mouthpiece.

Mouthpieces, often known as mandibular advancement devices, prevent the soft throat tissues from collapsing and obstructing the airway. They do this by bringing your lower jaw forward and by lifting your soft palate.  Some devices also stop the tongue from falling back over your windpipe.  That not only helps prevent snoring but also counteracts mild or moderate sleep apnea.

The typical dental device is made of soft, light plastic.  You will typically heat the mouthpiece in hot water and then bite down on it while it is still warm, thereby creating a mold of your jaw.  After a few days discomfort, while your mouth adapts to the device, you should be sleeping better than ever.  And so will your partner. 

Mouthpieces may be the right snoring solution for you if:

• you do not have trouble breathing through your nose at night
• you have a full set of teeth
• you do not exhibit severe obstructive sleep apnea.

Dental devices are often overlooked in the U.S. because the snoring sufferer perceives them as expensive and hard to obtain.  The FDA requires all such devices to order by prescription and fitted by your dentist.  Given that the average dentist is not a sleep specialist, the odds are that your family dentist will be as unfamiliar with the devices on the market as you are.  And even if your dentist is up to speed, involving a professional inevitably will add hundreds of dollars to the cost of the product.

Admittedly, patients with severe jaw deformities or missing teeth probably need close supervision by their dentist and will benefit from a custom-made device.  But there are several inexpensive products on the market that are easily fitted by the users themselves. However, the manufacturers are not supposed to provide them directly to U.S. consumers.

Fortunately, a selection of dental devices can be ordered from international suppliers via the Internet. If you live in the U.S. and feel that a mouthpiece may help, you can reduce the financial risk considerably by buying and fitting your device without your dentist's help.

Here are four vendors of dental appliances costing $65 or less that you can fit yourself.   

• Noiselezz (right), a hinged soft mouthpiece developed in Denmark and distributed in North America from Therapy Control Products
• SnorBan, from Snoring Relief Labs in California, sold as a Sport Mouthpiece and therefore not required to be obtained by prescription.
• Somnoguard (pictured lower right) a new device available from The British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association, builds on several years of clinical research into SnorBan.
• SnoreMate, a South African brand of mouth device.

Many more mouthpieces are listed on our website.  Your PutanEndtoSnoring editor has personally tested Noiselezz and Somnoguard and can attest that both are easy to fit, effective in preventing snoring, and relatively comfortable (if I happen to wake up at night, I will normally feel like removing the device). I showed Noiseless to my dentist and he saw no reason to object to my using the product. 

Is this information useful to you? Send us questions or feedback.  And remember, information provided by PutanEndtoSnoring does not substitute for the advice of your physician. 

  Feature article:  Take your laser off my throat!

 Laser surgery may not work for snoring and apnea. That's the news from a clinic in Israel, which reports on 26 patients with obstructive sleep apnea who underwent laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP).

Although there was short-term improvement, with 23 or the 26 reporting snoring improvement, within a couple of years only 17 people still felt their snoring was better. For three people (12%), the state of snoring worsened. Overall, only 58% were satisfied.

Why does LAUP sometimes prove ineffective? The doctors suggest that the laser causes scarring at the back of the throat that can narrow the airways and make the throat too rigid.  This is somewhat confusing given that some treatments, such as injection snoreplasty, are in fact designed to stiffen the throat tissues to reduce the vibration that causes snoring. 

Bottom line, these findings reinforce the importance of trying non-invasive snoring remedies before resorting to surgery.

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This section features a current posting to our forum.   We welcome all readers experiences with snoring remedies of all types.

I had the somnoplasty procedure performed by an ENT Dr. in Oct 2000.  He did four probes on my soft palate which resulted in too much tissue being shrunk and removed.  Is there any procedure that can add back tissue?   He also performed a uvulectomy and there  has been constant pain since the procedures. Thank you for your reply. -- Paula

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