Snoring: Bad for Health, Bad for Relationships

In these stressful times, a good night's sleep has become especially valuable, and increasingly difficult to get. Snoring and sleep apnoea (a medical problem where the airway collapses during sleep) deprive people and their unfortunate bed partners of the rest they need to face their daily challenges.

Habitual snoring is estimated in about 40% of adult men and in about 24% of adult women, and approximately 150,000 to 200,000 Irish people suffer from the condition. Of these, only at the very most 5% have been diagnosed and treated.

Dr. John O’Brien, a dentist for over 30 years, is an Irish specialist in the management of sleep apnoea. He comments, “Living with a snorer can strain even the most dedicated relationship leading to dissension and in some cases has been cited as grounds for divorce. If you are kept awake night after night by a bed partner's snoring you are not getting the sleep you need. Inadequate sleep can lead to irritability, muddled thinking, illness, poor performance at work and drowsiness whilst driving with the obvious danger this may give rise to.

A recent study pointed out that 80% of snoring couples slept apart. The effect of snoring and sleep apnoea can raise blood pressure in direct relation to the extent of the problem. High blood pressure is a known risk factor for stroke, heart disease, kidney disease and dementia”.

Patients with a snoring problem need to be assessed for sleep apnoea. Patients can then be provided with a removable small, comfortable, custom-made dental mouthpieces that hold the lower jaw in a forward position have been proven to support the airway to prevent collapse, and have been approved as a primary treatment in snoring and mild to moderate sleep apnoea. These dental appliances, which on average take 1-2 weeks to acclimatise to, are extremely successful in eliminating snoring.

Previously, patients have been treated using a system known as CPAP, a continuous positive air pressure applied through a nasal mask which many patients find uncomfortable, bulky and inconvenient. Dental mouthpieces have been approved as the comfortable, transportable, convenient alternative to CPAP for the treatment of mild to moderate sleep apnoea. and also in patients who cannot tolerate c-pap treatment of sleep apnoea. These oral appliances also control primary snoring.

Dr. O’Brien specialises in the treatment and provision of appliances to eliminate snoring. Holding nationwide clinics, Dr. O'Brien practises in Leeson Street, Dublin 4, Clontarf, Dublin 3, Portlaoise and the Galway Clinic.
For further information or to book an appointment in Dr. O’Brien’s clinics, call 01 668 0599.
-ends-
Dr. John O Brien is available for interview.
For further press information:
Maeve Berry, Those Two Girls PR at maeve@thosetwogirls.ie or on 091 385600.


About Dr John O’Brien:
A dentist for over 30 years, Dr. John O’Brien became interested in the management of sleep apnoea and snoring whilst completing a post-graduate program in the management of Facial Pain and Headache in Los Angeles between 1999 and 2002. At the time, Dr. O’Brien was fortunate to work under the supervision of Dr. Glenn Clark at UCLA who was responsible for one of the first appliances developed for snoring management and is considered one of the foremost dental experts world-wide in the management of these conditions.

Dr. O'Brien returned to Ireland in 2002 upon completion of his studies and set up a specialist practice for Facial pain and Headache management. He soon realised that although sleep apnoea was well catered for by specialist doctors, snoring was to an extent being ignored with all patients regardless of their condition being offered c-pap with little or no alternative such as dental devices being offered. He quickly became involved with the medical profession in providing help for those who had a simple snoring problem and also those who had snoring with a moderate level of sleep apnoea. There are people with more severe levels of sleep apnoea for whom conventional medical treatment with c-pap had not proved to be a viable option and who previously were considered to have no options, but it is now known that many of this group may do very well with dental appliances.

Patients with a snoring problem need to be assessed for sleep apnoea and suitable patients can then be provided with a removable custom-made dental appliance which on average takes 1-2 weeks to acclimatise to and is extremely successful in eliminating snoring.
Dr. O'Brien practises in Leeson Street, Dublin 4, Clontarf, Dublin 3, Portlaoise and the Galway Clinic.