When To Start Worrying About Snoring
Snoring is caused by blockage or obstruction of air as it passes through the back of the mouth and into the throat. The opening and closing of the air passage causes a vibration in the throat tissues that results in the sound known as snoring. The volume and frequency of snoring is dependent on how much of the passage is being obscured by tissues and how much air is passing through it.
Snoring is a common occurrence in both adults and children. It is often a normal thing that people deal with and is not often damaging to a person’s health. In fact, toddlers and children over the age of 3 tend to snore heavily if they are in a very deep sleep. However, snoring can be a symptom of sleeping issues such as sleep apnea and should therefore be brought to a medical professional’s attention.
How Can I Help Myself/ My Child?
There are some things that you can do in your own life or for your child in order to stop snoring. Adults can try to loose weight to decrease the amount of tissue and irregular structure of the airway, avoid alcohol at night, reduce or eliminate use of sedatives, and avoid sleeping on your back.
For children, also have them sleep on their sides and have them assessed for sleep quality to ensure that they do not have any underlying issues such as sleep apnea, large tonsils, or adenoids.
How Can My Dental Hygienist Help Me?
Your dental hygienist will be able to find the source of the snoring issue by assessing the mouth and airway of the patient. Discuss your or your child’s snoring issue with your dental hygienist is the first step to finding relief. Your dental hygienist will run several tests in order to determine the root issue and plan for treatment.
If you need to find relief from your snoring or are concerned about the development of your child’s snoring visit PinaMazza, expert dental hygienist and orofacial myologist, today to get the best dental care and snoring guidance. Call us today at 410.835.5002 or visit the Maple Dental Hygiene care website to book an appointment.