Quick Facts About Obstructive Sleep Apnea

• 98.5% of snorers exhibit some apnic tendencies
• 24% of males and 18% of females suffer from snoring
• 60% of males and 40% of females over the age of 60 snore (female snoring increases after menopause)
• loudness of snoring may reach as high as 90db (85db is considered hazardous noise by the Workers' Compensation Board)
• hypertension is present during wakefulness in approximately 50% of people with sleep apnea
• over long periods, sleep apnea results in intellectual and memory deterioration

the Silencer

1959-152nd Street
Suite 239 Surrey, CB,
Canada, V4A 9E3

Phone (604) 538-5287
Phone (800) 919-6999
Fax  (604) 538-7482

The dental treatment for a medical condition.

The tongue, attached as it is to the jaw, may be pulled forward by the advancement of the jaw.

The optimum advancement of the jaw is the minimum required to open the airway. The Silencer has an adjustability feature which permits incremental advancement of the jaw to achieve this requirement.

An awakening has taken place in the last 25 years to the importance of sleep disorders.  One important and common disorder is snoring, which affects a large percentage of individuals in our society.

Snoring may be an annoying social problem and  a subject for humour, but at its worst may be a reflection of a significant medical problem - obstructive sleep apnea.

Studies show that 40 percent of middle-aged men snore and 30 percent of middle-aged women snore.

Snoring is associated with an increased risk of hypertension as well as an increased risk of both cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.  Snoring, even without apnea, can lead to numerous arousals from obstructed breathing. Arousals have been linked to sympathetic nervous systems activation which may provide a casual link between snoring and hypertension.

The Silencer is an articulated elastomeric mandibular advancement appliance.  This dental device is designed to allow the advancement of the mandible through a controlled range of forward movement, while at the same time, allowing for a limited amount of vertical and lateral movement of the mandible.  This appliance has proven extremely effective in treating snoring and sleep apnea.

There are three component materials in the Silencer.  The body of the appliance is constructed of elastomer, a pliable material which offers the patient a much greater degree of comfort than harder acrylic materials.  For additional support to the dentition as well as the Tempro-Mandibular Joint, hard acrylic "bite pads" are placed in the molar regions. A commercially pure titanium articulating component grants the appliance the many adjustment characteristics that make the Silencer unique - kind to the tissue, the teeth, and the Tempro-Mandibular Joint (TMJ).