24 Harbour Road Portishead BS20 7AL
24 Harbour Road Portishead BS20 7AL
If you are one of the millions of people who suffer from snoring or sleep apnoea, Evolve Dentistry can help you get that good night’s sleep you’ve been longing for, with Sleepwell, an anti-snoring device.
This is a fully custom-made anti-snoring device, the Sleepwell splint is made in a dental laboratory using specific materials for maximum comfort as well as an exact fit. Sleepwell holds the lower jaw forwards during sleep, keeping the tongue forwards and preventing it from dropping back against the back of the throat therefore preventing full or partial closure of the airway.
Snoring is the noise made during sleep as a result of turbulent air that passes through the throat. The air is turbulent because the back of the tongue has dropped back causing the airway to reduce in size. Whilst the person who is snoring often can sleep reasonably well, the person’s partner is usually disturbed for most of the night. This can lead to people sleeping in separate rooms.
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) occurs when the back of the tongue completely closes off the airway during sleep resulting in the person stopping breathing for several seconds, they then start breathing with a gasp or snort. This can occur repeatedly throughout the night and the number of episodes will define if it is mild, moderate or severe. OSA can have a severe impact on a person’s life as they never get into a deep enough sleep to feel refreshed, so are often very tired during the day, this can lead to other health issues. OSA can only be diagnosed by a doctor, usually a sleep physician.
An initial assessment needs to be carried out to identify if a person has symptoms suggestive of OSA. If this is the case, then a referral to their GP is appropriate to investigate further. Other factors such as weight loss (if the patient is overweight), reduction in smoking and drinking and not using sedatives at night can all help. At Evolve Dentistry, we offer patients a Sleepwell device which is worn at night and can greatly reduce snoring and the severity of OSA.
Sleepwell is a custom-made mouthpiece produced within our laboratory to fit your teeth. Sleepwell has some unique features including a soft inner lining, allows side to side movement of the lower jaw and most importantly allows the patient to adjust it to maximise effectiveness. High levels of patient comfort means that during clinical trials over 98% of patients found Sleepwell an acceptable snoring device.
It is the most clinically successful and advanced two-piece mouthpiece to help stop snoring.
Our specially trained dentists will meet with you to discuss your needs and carry out a full examination. This, along with the responses to a short questionnaire we would have previously asked you and your partner to complete, will enable us to ensure that a Sleepwell anti-snoring device is suitable for you.
We will then take a full set of impressions of your teeth. Your customised Sleepwell anti-snoring device will be made in the laboratory to perfectly match your teeth and mouth. Once made, a second appointment will be made for you to be shown how to use it.
This device is not suitable for children and also patients who have active gum disease. We would also assess your jaw joint to ensure that it is healthy, sometimes, if your jaw joint is painful, we would not recommend an anti-snoring device.
Patients usually see results immediately, but it can take 2-4 weeks for some patients to get used to it in their mouth.
With obstructive sleep apnoea, it can take 8-12 weeks to see an improvement as the device has to be activated slowly in order for the patient to be able to cope with it.
What do I do next?
Contact us today to find out more about how we can help you or your partner stop snoring 01275 842 550.
back to treatmentsWe are still open for business, please come to your appointments as planned but call us if you have any concerns.
In order to keep everyone safe, please can we remind you:
*Please do not attend your appointment if you have any symptoms of COVID, call us to let us know that you can’t make it.
*Please make sure that you have done your pre-attendance COVID screening, one of the team will call you the day before your appointment, we must speak to you.
*You will be asked to pay in advance for your appointment to minimise your time in the practice
*Please come alone to your appointment unless you are a parent or carer with the patient
*Please arrive at your appointment time, if you are early, we may have to ask you to wait outside
*Please wear a face mask in the practice, we can provide you with one if you don’t have one
*The door will be locked, please press the bell and someone will let you in
*Please use the hand sanitiser provided as soon as you enter
*Please do not bring extra bags or shopping
*Ideally, plan to avoid using our toilet facilities
*Please leave the practice as soon as you can after your appointment especially if your appointment has involved drilling or anything that creates spray
Please stay safe, if you have any concerns, please call us on 01274 842550