Snoring and Sleep Apnea

Dr. Tamez's approach to snoring is to first evaluate for nasal obstruction. Many times improving nasal breathing reduces snoring. If Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) needs to be ruled out, a sleep study is performed. OSA is very common in snorers and many times needs to be ruled out prior to recommending treatment for snoring alone (refer to Obstructive Sleep Apnea).

For those patients who suffer with snoring alone, without nasal obstruction or without any significant OSA, other options are available including oral appliance, snoreplasty, palatal injection or palatal implant (pillar implant).

Possible Testing

• Computed tomography (CT) scan of the sinuses
• Sleep Study/Polysomnography

Possible Treatments

• Septoplasty
• Tubinoplasty/Submucous Resection of the Turbinates
• Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS)
• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) to treat sleep apnea
• Oral Appliance to treat sleep apnea or snoring