Can You See Your Airway?

Is snoring a problem you are experiencing often? This is likely due to the quality of your soft tissue located at the back of your mouth where the airway starts. A healthy airway is visual when the mouth is wide open. If you are not able to see the airway at the back of your mouth, the tissue has formed a soft, inflamed blockage. When we snore for an extended period, we are sucking in air through our mouth and continuously traumatize the soft tissues that form the airway. The oral tissue should not be experiencing this airflow as we should be inhaling air though our nose. The soft tissue in the nose is designed to clean the air we breathe as it is firmer and contains hair follicles that trap debris. By air moving through the mouth instead of the nose, the debris moves into our circulatory system, leaving us more susceptible to getting sick.

So, what can we do to help manage this problem? The answer lies with opening the airway. What to do next depends on how closed the airway is. Some people need a continuous airway pressure, or CPAP machine. Others may only need to tape their mouths closed while sleeping. In all these situations, a light laser can drastically improve the proper function of inhalation while sleeping. So, what does the light laser do? The specialized light stimulates the growth of new, firm tissue. By applying the light to the back of the mouth where the oral tissue has gotten soft, it will stimulate the growth of firm tissue. The firmer we get the tissue, the less it will sag down and cover the airway. By applying the light periodically, the airway will become more visible and functional. This process will increase the size of the airway again and will encourage air to move through the nose.

What are the complications associated with using the laser? Because the laser quickens the healing process our bodies already have, it virtually has no side effects. Not only will a light laser improve the oral cavity, but it can also improve tissue, muscle and tendons just about anywhere that pain is experienced. As opposed to conventional means to treat ailments, a light laser does not negatively affect other systems in the body in order to treat another. It is too often a practitioner recommends a drug or medication to alleviate a symptom only to create a new, unwanted side-effect. Unfortunately, this domino effect has been the standard of care in our healthcare system for years, and it is time to provide people with an easier, healthier, and kinder means to achieve the most important thing we need. To breathe.