Treatments for Snoring and Sleep Apnea
If you snore or suffer from sleep apnea, solutions are at hand. You should consult with
professionals, such as those at the Snoring Center, to weigh your best, most minimally
invasive options and consider the outcomes that best suit you. Sometimes the treatment
can be accomplished the same day in as little as 20 minutes time, so it is in your best
interest to get started as soon as possible.
Here are some of the treatments available and recognized by the medical profession as
the best solutions around, depending on the individual’s special characteristics and
needs:
. Pillar Procedure: This is a minimally invasive option that can be accomplished in 20
minutes or so with no or minimal discomfort afterwards, leaving your eating, drinking
and talking functions normal. The Pillar Procedure involves placing small woven implants into the soft palate, stiffening the palate and reducing the vibration that can cause snoring. Even moderate sleep apnea sufferers have reported an 80-percent improvement in their sleep experience and daytime wakefulness from the procedure. Results are usually noticed within a few weeks, but some patients take as long as three months.
. Turbinate Coblation: Turbinates are found inside the nose, and swollen turbinates can
cuase congestion and difficulty breathing. Coblation shrinks the turbinates, opening
the air passage and providing years of relief from nasal allergy symptoms. Turbinate
Coblation has also proven successful for sleep apnea and generalized snoring sufferers.
This is another quick painless office procedure that can be used depending upon your
condition and evaluation.
. Palate Coblation: The soft palate is the key to snoring relief. When air is
obstructed, the soft palate — and the back of the tongue and the uvula — vibrate and
create snoring. Palate Coblation uses radio frequency (RF) energy to form channels in
the tissue of the soft palate, which eventually form into scar tissue and stiffen the
soft palate over a few weeks’ time. Because low-frequency RF energy is used, the
procedure results in less discomfort than laser procedures.
If you are a candidate for this procedure, it is quick and affordable and, while not
permanent, can provide years of relief from snoring. After the 20-minute office
procedure, you can return to normal activities immediately.
. Laser Tonsillectomy: If your tonsils are swollen, enlarged or chronically infected,
office-based laser tonsillectomies can provide quick relief with a mild anesthesia. You
can return to normal activities the next day with no hospital stay, and you can even
drive yourself home. The laser is used to vaporize the outer surface of the tonsils,
reducing their size and eliminating any infection. This procedure is effective if your
snoring or sleep apnea is caused by enlarged or infected tonsils.
. Oral Appliances: Dentists and others often use oral appliances as a “first line of
defense” against snoring and sleep apnea. The devices either depress the tongue to
increase air flow or force the lower jaw forward to allow more air in. The downside is
that many patients find these devices uncomfortable and others report jaw pain. At the
Snoring Center, we reserve their use for those who cannot be adequately treated with
minimally invasive procedures or for those seeking a lower-cost alternative.
. Surgery: Most snoring and sleep apnea sufferers can be treated without full-bore
surgery, which must be performed by a qualified surgeon at a medical center. The
Snoring Center will evaluate you completely, and in the rare instance where surgery is
indicated, we will inform you so. The Snoring Center does not perform full surgery. The
crucial point is to be fully evaluated by professionals, often including a sleep study.
. CPAP: The Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device is a machine that forces
air through the mouth and nose from a mask worn at night. CPAP is generally a good
solution for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea patients. Not everyone can
stomach wearing a mask while sleeping, however, so we at the Snoring Center do advise
as alternatives some of the procedures already discussed.
If you have a snoring and/or subsequent wakefulness problem, or both, you should waste no time in getting evaluated and examining your options. Not treating a snoring problem can often lead to more serious health problems, so you should take steps to get your snoring and sleep problems under control.
