National Stop Snoring Week

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

National Stop Snoring Week

Hello again, I hope you are well.  This month we have National Stop Snoring Week.  It is actually 22nd – 28th April.  There seems to be a national week or national day for most things now and snoring has not escaped.  Snoring and lack of sleep is gaining more interest, as is sleep medicine as a subject.  Poor sleep can have serious health repercussions.

Snoring

The sound of snoring is irritating and annoying and can lead to sleep deprivation for the bed partner. But the noise of snoring can also cause a number of health problems.  The level of noise that starts to have an effect on sleep is around 40dB.  The noise of snoring can range from about 50dB to 100+dB.  Research has consistently found that when exposed to noise at these levels, it can have a negative effect on all areas of wellbeing.

Sleep disturbance, hearing impairment, daytime functioning, mental health problems, cognitive issues and negative social behaviour can be symptoms of being subjected to loud noise over an extended period of time.  Sleep deprivation can also have a negative impact on body systems such as hormonal release, glucose regulation and cardiovascular function.  Some bed partners who sleep with a snorer try to ignore the noise.

Although they may manage to sleep through the night, the quality of sleep is much reduced and they will not feel as refreshed in the morning as they should.  Noise tends to reduce deep refreshing sleep to more shallow sleep, and will reduce dreaming sleep.

Facts About Snoring:

• 15 million snorers in the UK.
• 10.5 million men 4.5 million women.
• 40-50% of patients do not comply with suggested treatment.
• Men are louder snorers than women.
• 58% of snorers are between 50-59 years of age.
• The average sound of snoring is around 50dB but can reach up to 100dB which is the equivalent to listening to a motorbike roaring in your ear.
• Napoleon Bonaparte, Winston Churchill, Teddy Roosevelt and even Queen Victoria were all snorers.
• Snorers have less sex than their non-snoring counterparts.

The Good News

So, why’s a dentist going on about snoring?  Well, a whole lot of snoring is caused by the soft palate on the tongue.  With a Non-Surgical Laser Therapy or a Mandibular Advancement Device we can successfully alleviate loud snoring.

There is an app that you can get for your smart phone called Snore Lab.  It’s a really good way to follow your snoring.  We advise using it before during and after treatment as a guide to how you are doing.  Here is an actual series a kind (and very happy) patient let me share during Nightlase Therapy.

Until next time. 

Take care and be good.

Here’s to making a difference.







Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550. He has been in dental practice for 26 years and has a special interest in Life Changing, Pain Free Dentistry with Dental Implants, Teeth Straightening and Cosmetic Dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’ Humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

Are You Fed Of Sleeping In The Spare Room Or Bruised Ribs?

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

Are You Fed Of Sleeping In The Spare Room Or Bruised Ribs?

Hello again. I hope that you are well. Well, as usual a busy time. Dental Mavericks were approached by Sheffield University Dental School. The Students have to do an elective whereby they spend time somewhere, home or abroad and write up their aims and objectives and what they found. This can be scientific or socially based but to do with dentistry. I was daft enough to say that I would give a presentation to them.

Don’t Give Up The Day Job

So, I took a day off work to go to Sheffield. There were other speakers, mainly corporate companies that specialise in these elective “holidays” for students. I was on last. Once I got going I quite enjoyed it. The students seemed to engage and I got great feedback. I was even approached to see if it was OK for the Sheffield University Dental Students Society to support Dental Mavericks. Wow, that was a result!!! If I could just inspire some youngsters to get involved and come with us that would be great. They are the future.

Back At The BBC

I was also asked to be on BBC Radio Humberside again. The sugar tax was introduced last month. Andy Comfort interviewed me over the phone. He was a really nice guy. There is far too much sugar in all sorts of stuff and there is an increase in child dental decay and teeth out as well as a worldwide general health problems associated with empty calories due to excessive sugar intake.

So, Back To Snoring, As Promised

Snoring affects 40% of us, and can have mild to devastating effects on our health, from general tiredness to increased risk of hypertension and subsequent cardiovascular problems.

Lasers Can Help

One way to improve the airway is with a GENTLE laser treatment, a process called Nightlase™. Sometimes surgery is offered but it is really painful, takes a long time to heal creates scarring that can effect swallowing and sometimes speech.

With the Dual wavelength Nightlase™ treatment the low laser energy creates a gentle heating of the tissue of the soft palate. There is no need for local anaesthetic or a recovery period, so no downtime afterwards. Just get on with your life. You need a full assessment first as usual. One assessment is called a Mallampati score. The idea is to get you to a low Mallampati score to open up the airway. It is usually 3-5 treatments about 30 minutes each 21 days apart.

The gentle heating is about 50-65 degrees. This equates to a cup of tea hot, so can feel a bit scratchy. The heat causes tissue changes with shrinkage from day one usually. There is a change in he collagen that helps with this. The effects can last a year or so with no tissue damage or scarring. Mallampati

An Interesting Fact

This science was first used in gynaecological and female genito-urinary medicine to reduce urinary incontinence and other stuff. It was some smart Argentinians that thought of applying the same principles to anti-snoring treatment. I have no pictures of any of this.

Guest Speakers

Hope you have a great couple of Bank Holidays. I will be in Slovenia at the end of May at an international laser conference. Both my colleague Ilay and myself are guest speakers at the event. Better start preparing, eh.

Until next time. Take care and be good.



Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550. He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’ humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

Are You Fed Of Sleeping In The Spare Room?

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

Are You Fed Of Sleeping In The Spare Room?

Hello again. I hope that you are well. It’s all go as usual. I was In Bury yesterday on a practice management/customer service course. It’s not only the clinical stuff that I have to keep up with and constantly look for better. This Friday/Saturday I’m at Cambridge University on a course looking at a way to speed up healing. It looks very interesting.

What Are You On About…The Spare Room

Well, there is actually a National Stop Snoring Week. It’s 23rd-29th April. Snoring is really quite common. It can be mild or severe. In very severe cases it becomes sleep apnoea when you actually stop breathing for several seconds at a time before a big gasp and this happens several times an hour. This can put a big strain on your heart.

The Big Yawn

One of the big drawbacks of snoring is lack of sleep. This can be for the snorer, but not always. Sometimes the snorer is blissfully unaware and sleeps well. The vibration or noise can interrupt sleep, sometimes you are not aware of it and it is more of an arousal from sleep rather than waking up but it still interrupts the normal cycle of sleep stages and leaves you really tired still in the morning. Obviously if the snoring is loud enough then it interrupts the sleep of a sleep partner and this is when the bed in the spare room comes in!

What Causes It

The cause is airway collapse and vibration. The main cause is the vibration of the tongue collapsed back against the soft palate.

Can You Treat It?

Well, yes you can. The aim is to stop the collapse. One way is to posture the lower jaw forwards which in turn brings the tongue forwards and opens up the airway using a mandibular advancement device. The one we use now is the Sleepwell device as there has been loads of research and great results out of Barts and the London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry led by Professor Ama Johal. I did some training with him.

Another way is Non-surgical laser therapy. My Colleague Ilay and myself are trained in this using the Nightlase™ protocol with Nd:YAG and Er:YAG laser. The great thing with this is no numbing, no down time, no surgery and it starts to work from the first session and the airway is improved 24hrs a day and not just when a device is worn. It’s all clever stuff. I’ll expand on it next time.

It’s That Time Of Year Again

It’s coming to the end of the football season. Will Hull City stay up? It’s been a funny season. I really hope that they do. Come on lads, keep it together and push until the end.

Until next time. Take care and be good. 

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550. He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk