Transform your patients nightlife

Studies have shown that approximately 40% of the population of the industrialised countries snore and that this increases to 60% in men above the age of 60.

Most of the noise produced by snoring are generated by vibration of areas of the soft tissues. During sleep, there is a natural relaxation of the muscle tone in the neck and pharynx and the normal firmness of the tissues decreases, resulting in the formation of bottlenecks or even complete obstruction of the airways, especially when the patient lies on their back.

Due to this narrowing of the pharyngeal space, the required volume of air must be respired at a higher velocity to deliver the same quantity of air. This results in stimulation and vibration of the soft tissues, such as the velum palatinum (soft palate) and uvulum.

It has been found that snoring can also be caused by external factors such as corpulence, alcohol or sedatives. A reduction or elimination of any of these may in mild cases be sufficient to remedy the condition.

Methods of Treatment

Oral Devices

These devices are worn at night and usualy opperate by displacing the lower jaw forward in an anterior direction in order to achieve the opening of the Pharyngeal section of the airways.

Breathing Mask

The breathing mask is used for positive air preasure respiration, keeping the airways open. The masks are usualy effective even in severe apnoea cases and are considered the method of choice in these cases However, the breathing mask must be set up and adjusted in the sleep laboratory. It is a vital piece of equipment although at times may prove inconvenient.

Surgery

Usually, surgery is used to remove respiration-imparing structures, such as enlarged tonsils, adenoids ect. Widely differing success rates of surgery in treating snoring have been reported (20-40%). Success in terms of the cure of apnoea is unsatisfactory.

The Silensor

The Silensor is one of the oral appliances which can be worn at night, its biggest advantage being that it is non-bulky.

The success of the treatment is largely dependent on the patient's acceptance of the appliance. All these benefits are the advantages of the SILENSOR.

The SILENSOR makes use of the fact that the pharyngeal space is enlarged when the lower jaw is displaced in an anterior direction.

The SILENSOR consists of two seperate formings which fit over the upper and lower tooth arches. The formings are connected by two lateral rotating connectors which gently pull the lower jaw forward. Any further opening of the mouth increases the anterior displacement of the lower jaw.

Because the SILENSOR is of minimum bulk it is comfotable and an effective anti-snoring aid.

The effectiveness of the Silensor

The SILENSOR has proven highly successful even when breathing through the nose is difficult or blocked since in almost all cases the noise involved in snoring is caused by constriction of the airways. Similary, when breathing through the nose is difficult or impossible, e.g. by polyps, use of the SILENSOR is in no way percluded.

The SILENSOR cannot be used in the edentulous mouth. Where removable partial dentures are worn and are firmly retained within the mouth the SILENSOR can be used. In other cases, it must be assessed individually whether the standing teeth will provide sufficient retention of the device.