Mandibular Advancement Splint

This locally made device to advance the mandible (jaw) enabled me to obtain as much value from four (4) hours sleep as eight (8) hours without it, giving me time to build this website! The splint has been demonstrated to reduce sleep apnoea (episodes of not breathing) using polysomnography, with treatment success achieved in 73.7% of patients, along with less snoring.

I found it easy to use after the first two nights. The two lower pictures are of my splint, the top one was "borrowed" from the NZMJ. Click them to enlarge.

If you would like one, discuss it with your dentist, who should be able to make a mould and order one (like getting a set of dentures).

Tongue Stabilizing Device (TSD)

This device has been devoloped in NZ (by Dunedin orthodontist Chris Robertson) to draw the tongue and not the whole jaw forward as in the MRI scan on the right. It may take a few nights to adjust to it but if it achieves a reduction in snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea as claimed, it will be far cheaper and less obtrusive than a CPAP machine.

The website of the manufacturer is www.aveosleep.com.

Snoring Surgery including Snore-Op

Surgical options in NZ are generally only done in private and commonly include:

1. Septoplasty and Turbinate Reduction: This involves improving the nasal airway by straightening any deviated septum and opening the passage by reducing the turbinate size. It requires an ENT surgeon (now known as Otolaryngologist) performing an operation under General Anaesthetic.
   
   
2. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP or UP3): This also involves an ENT surgeon but is often done under local anaesthetic. It involves removal all or most of the uvula (and sometimes the adenoids) and reducing the soft palate.

3. Radio-frequency Tissue Volume Reduction (RFTVR): This has the longest and most confusing abbreviation, so more commonly known as "Snore-Op" but it is the simplest, safest, least invasive, least painful and cheapest method and almost as effective as a UPPP. It can also be done by a specially trained General Practitioner. It involves using Radio-frequency energy under local anaesthetic in two or more sessions to tighten the parts of the soft palate that vibrate and so reduce most of the noise of snoring. I have had this procedure and can confirm that it is highly effective in reducing snoring volume (and long lasting) but the local anaesthetic is very unpleasant (but necessary!). An accidental mucosal burn was very painful. Relapse rates of 11% have been reported in studies.