Mandibular Advancement Device - It’s a bit of a mouthful in more ways than one…

Many people who snore let their mouth drop open when they sleep. When the jaw falls down and back, it causes the tongue to lift off the floor of the mouth causing an obstruction at the base of the throat. This obstruction can lead to a blockage of the airway causing snoring or if the blockage is complete, sleep apnea.

A mandibular advancement device (also known as a MAD) is, as the name suggests, a device worn in the mouth to help hold the mandible (lower jaw) forward. The most common device is a sports type mouth guard arrangement that holds the lower jaw in place. If the jaw is held forward then the tongue can’t fall to the back of the throat causing the blockage.

This type of device will only work if you are a mouth breather and your snoring occurs at the back of the throat and your snoring is not caused by the vibration of the soft palate and uvula.

It is worth noting that if you breathe through your nose and keep your mouth shut then even if your tongue falls back, it is difficult to produce a snoring sound. You can test this by breathing through your nose now. Keep your mouth shut with your teeth clenched together. If you now try and drop your tongue to the back of your throat, while maintaining your nasal breathing it is very unlikely you will be able to block the airflow.

While a mandibular advancement device can help retrain you to keep your jaw forward, to get the best results you should breathe through your nose. Before trying out a device like this you may want to look at our mouth snoring page first. You may be able to help your problem without a having to buy a device.

You know at the start I said it was a bit of mouthful. Well try and say it 3 times quickly... See what I mean?

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