Snoring is caused by the vibrations of your soft and/or hard tissue palates; these vibrations occur because of increasingly narrow air passages. When air passes through these passages, a “flapping” sound occurs because the tissue is soft in nature. It is estimated that 40% of adults snore by age 40 and 45 million people snore every night. Snoring not only disrupts your sleep pattern, it also keeps you and your partner from getting a good night’s rest.
Snoring can also be an indication of a serious and possibly life-threatening health problem, such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA. So if you believe you may be experiencing symptoms of OSA, you should be evaluated by a medical professional.
Benign cases of snoring can be easily treated with an oral appliance, even without a doctor’s diagnosis. Dr. Kawakami will refer you to a board certified sleep specialist, typically an ENT or pulmonologist, to diagnosis sleep apnea prior to oral appliance therapy.