Snoring is a Big Problem

45% of adult men and 30% of adult women snore regularly – at least a few nights every week. 25% of adults are considered habitual snorers.

And the problem isn’t going away. It has a tendency to get worse with age. Your patients may find that they snore more if they have nasal congestion from allergies or a cold, if they use any alcohol or sedating medications, or if they have put on a few extra pounds.

Implications

Snoring affects both the snorer and others sleeping in the house. The snorer and those forced to listen to it may both experience headaches, fatigue, and concentration problems during the day as well as personal embarrassment due to relationship/social situations. Snoring has widespread health implications including hypertension, depression and cardiac disease.

The Cause

Many people really don’t know what causes their snoring and don’t believe there is any way to stop it. It can be a helpless feeling when you don’t want to interrupt others in the night but have no way of preventing it.

Snoring comes from the throat. It is caused when your airway becomes partially blocked. When you sleep, you relax. Your muscles and soft tissues in the back of your mouth or throat - the tongue, uvula, upper throat, and soft palate - rub together creating vibrations and noise.

In its most severe form, the collapse of the upper airway is so complete that the lungs may not receive oxygen for up to 30 seconds. This is called “Obstructive Sleep Apnea”. In response to this deprivation of oxygen, your body triggers an internal alarm and you partially wake. This is usually accompanied by loud gasps for air that can last 3 seconds or more, until you fall asleep and the cycle starts all over again.
Snoring is also affected by diet, health, lifestyle, age, weight, environment and other factors.

Solution

Snore Guard® is a small intra-oral device used only during sleep. It helps prevent the jaw and tongue from dropping back into the throat and restricting the air passage. Keeping the air-way open greatly reduces snoring.
Snore Guard® is professionally fitted by a dentist. It has a unique inner lining that is softened by heat during the fitting process (similar to custom athletic mouth guards). The unit is custom fit to your individual needs. It fits snugly over your top teeth while you sleep and is designed to keep your lower jaw in a comfortable forward position. This keeps your airway open, helping to eliminate snoring.

• Ask your dentist for Snore Guard®.
• Accept no substitutes.
• Simple, comfortable, patented, easy to fit, ONE-PIECE design that really works.
• No multiple pieces, wires or elastic bands.

No outside lab work. Snore Guard® is fit at chair-side in 10-15 minutes.

Snore Guard® and Dr. Hays Bite Guard are FDA approved and must be professionally fitted by a dentist or physician.
Click here to find a Dentist or Physician in your area.

Snore Guard® works by holding your jaw slightly forward while you sleep. This is called mandibular repositioning and effectively keeps your airway open so the soft tissue at the back of your throat doesn’t vibrate and cause snoring.
The device fits snugly on the upper teeth. When the lower jaw closes, the lower anterior teeth naturally strike the ramp and are induced by natural jaw movement to advance along the ramp moving the lower jaw to a more forward position. The Air Flow Technology™ aperture in the device between the upper portion and the lower portion facilitates the passage of air for mouth breathing and attracts the tongue forward.  By inducing the lower jaw and tongue to a more forward position, the device provides a more open airway in the throat resulting in a significant reduction in snoring. Minor forward movement of the lower jaw, in the range of 2 to 6mm serves to reduce the incidence of snoring.

How is Snore Guard® fitted?

Snore Guard® is fitted by a dentist. It takes one simple, painless chair-side visit. There are no needles, no drugs and no tools in your mouth. No lab work or X-rays are required.
Your dentist prepares the Snore Guard® by placing it in a hot water. This is sometimes referred to as a “boil and bite” device. Typically, a cup of water with a stirring rod is brought to a boil and then removed from the heat source. The device is placed in the hot water for 3 minutes to become pliable.
It is removed from the hot water and cooled slightly before fitting. The dentist centers the mouthpiece to your upper teeth and pushes up firmly, inserting your teeth into the soft, warm plastic. Then you bite into the thermoplastic at the bottom of the mouthpiece. Your lower jaw is in a normal or slightly advanced position.  In about 30 seconds, the thermoplastic becomes firm and the mouthpiece can be removed from your mouth. Excess thermoplastic is trimmed and smoothed from the top and bottom so that the Snore Guard fits comfortably.
   
How effective is Snore Guard®?

Users of Snore Guard® report significant improvement of sleep quality and a return of symptoms when it's not used.

• 99% reported reduced snoring and 50% reported elimination of snoring ("Oral Appliances for the Treatment of Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Review," Schmidt-Nowara, et. al., Sleep, Vol. 18, No. 6, March 1995, pages 501-510).
   
• 80% reported decreased sleep disturbance with treatment ("Treatment of Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea with a Dental Orthosis," Schmidt-Norwara, et. al., Sleep, November 1990).
   
• "Anti-snore device works: Product Name Snore Guard." A study of 75 people wearing the device showed snoring improved in all patients except one, and sleep quality and sleepiness also improved. (Clinical Research Associates Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 12, December 1992, page 4)

More information on Sleep Apnea
Treatments for Snoring

Snore Guard® and Dr. Hays Bite Guard are FDA approved and must be professionally fitted by a dentist or physician.
Click here to find a Dentist or Physician in your area.

Additional information

Additional sources of published information about Snore Guard and snoring include:
"Treatment of Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea with a Dental Orthosis" by Wolfgang W. Schmidt-Nowara, M.D.; Thomas E. Meade, D.D.S.; and Marvin B. Hays, M.D. Published in Chest, Vol. 99, No. 6, (June 1991), pages 1378-1385.
"Anti-Snoring Device Works: Product Name Snore Guard" by Gordon J. Christensen, D.D.S., Ph.D. Published in Clinical Research Associates Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 12, (December 1992), page 4.
"Final Project Report-Snore Guard, Project #93-016" USAF Dental Investigation Services, Armstrong Laboratory / AOCD, Brooks AFB, TX, 78234-5117,(March 21, 1994.
An American Sleep Disorders Association Review, "Oral Appliances for the Treatment of Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea, A Review" by Wolfgang Schmidt-Nowara, M.D.; Alan Lowe, D.M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.D(C); Laurel Wiegand; Rosalind Cartwright; Francisco Perez-Guerra; and Stuart Menn. Published in Sleep, Vol. 18, No. 6, March 1995, pages 501-510.

"A Randomized Cross-over Study of an Oral Appliance Versus Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure in the Treatment of Mild-Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea" by Kathleen A. Ferguson, B.S.C., M.D., F.C.C.P., F.R.C.P.C.; Takashi Ono, D.D.S., Ph.D.; Alan A. Lowe, D.M.A., Ph.D., F.R.C.P.C.; Sean P. Keenan, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.; John A. Fleetham, M.D., F.R.C.P.C. Accepted for publication in Chest, May 1996.