SLEEP APNEA & SNORING
Helping To Identify Serious Health Risks
Get Restful, Uninterrupted Sleep
Helping You Sleep Without Obstruction
Snoring is a common issue that affects just about everyone at some point in their life. While snoring can just be a sign of poor sleeping posture or a relaxed airway, it can also be a troublesome sign of a deeper issue that requires medical intervention. At Oyster Point Oral And Facial Surgery, we’re proud to assist patients with chronic snoring and sleep apnea treatment.
Snoring occurs when the relaxed tissues in your throat, such as the uvula and tonsils, vibrate as you breathe. When this airway is unobstructed, the air flows right past the soft tissues without making a sound. However, when the tissues are overly relaxed or incorrectly positioned, they block the airway, causing them to vibrate as the air pushes past them.
Determining The Factors That Affect You
What Causes Snoring?
Any number of things can block your airflow as you sleep, from sleeping position to alcohol consumption right before bed. In addition to these lifestyle-related causes, snoring can also begin as the result of medical and/or physical traits that predispose you to developing a snoring problem. However, most cases of chronic snoring will come about from some combination of these lifestyle factors and genetic predispositions. Dr. Lee will consult with you directly to determine what factors may be affecting you specifically.
Lifestyle factors that may contribute to snoring include:
Medical factors that may contribute to snoring include:
Why Choose Oyster Point Oral & Facial Surgery?
How We Can Help
The first step in treating a sleep-related problem is to consult with your doctor as well as loved ones or roommates who may have observed you sleeping. By gathering information about your sleep habits, we can determine whether you are experiencing a snoring problem or obstructive sleep apnea.
From there, we collect a detailed history and assess the anatomic relationships in your maxillofacial region. Using a cephalometric (skull x-ray) analysis, our doctors can ascertain the level of obstruction. Occasionally, other examinations will be performed to inspect the naso-pharyngeal areas of your face. Lastly, we may conduct a sleep test to examine how compromised your breathing is as you sleep, in addition to how much of a decrease we can see in your oxygen levels during this time.
Thankfully, there are several treatment methods available for snoring and sleep apnea. An initial treatment may consist of a nasal CPAP machine that delivers pressurized oxygen through a nasal mask as you sleep, allowing you to breathe easily. Surgical options may also be explored as necessary, including a uvulo-palato-pharyngo-plasty (UPPP) which is performed in the back of the soft palate and throat, or a Laser Assisted uvulo-palato-plasty (LAUP) which is a similar procedure performed with a laser. These treatments and more can help you clear that airway as you sleep, allowing you to sleep without obstruction.