Reducing or Eliminating Snoring with a Laser (Podcast)

John Maher: Hi, I am John Maher, and I’m here today with Dr. Nammy Patel, Founder of Green Dentistry in San Francisco, California, helping patients recognize the vital connection between dental health and whole-body health, and author of the bestselling books, Age with Style: Guide to a Youthful Smile and Healthy Living, and Total Wellness: Understanding the Link Between Your Teeth and your health. Today our topic is reducing or eliminating snoring with a laser. Welcome, Dr. Nammy.

Dr. Nammy Patel: Hi, John. Thank you for having me.

What is the New Laser Tool for Eliminating Snoring?

John: Sure. So Dr. Nammy, I understand you have a new laser tool in your dental office. What’s the new laser, and why did you get it?

Dr. Nammy: Well, one of the things that people suffer from is snoring, and it has a massive impact on our lives. We tend to be cranky. We tend to not be able to focus. What I’ve really learned is that snoring is really an alarm bell for our body. It’s telling us that it needs more air. So I wanted to find ways that we can help patients. For a long time there’s been tongue training exercises that are available, but it doesn’t work for everyone, and if you’re like me, super busy, on the go, you want another procedure that is going to give you the results pretty quickly and also it’s something that you don’t have to do every day.

I was researching a lot of different products and I came across a DEKA laser. I really love the DEKA laser because it’s an FDA-approved medical laser, and it’s specifically FDA-approved for snoring, which is fantastic. What it does is takes a laser beam and what it does is, just like our skin, sometimes as we age, our skin gets a little wrinkly. There are lots of lasers out there. We’ve heard of laser procedures that tighten our skin. This laser actually specifically does it for the tongue and the soft palate, so to the back of the throat and the tongue muscles. So it tightens them up nicely. So as they tighten them up, you actually stop snoring, you get more restful sleep, you actually open up the airway. It has a huge impact on your daily life, and that’s one of the reasons I purchased the laser.

Why is Snoring Such a Big Problem?

John: So, talk a little bit more about why snoring is such a problem and something that you’re looking to address as a holistic dentist.

Dr. Nammy: Main reason I am really concerned about snoring is that snoring is actually almost part of life. It happens as we get older, especially after 40. What happens is that our tongue fibers, just like all our other muscle fibers, tend to start relaxing. The collagen fibers that make up the skin and make up the muscles start unraveling because of aging. I can’t do anything about aging unfortunately, so what I wanted to do is really look at how can we make sure that the tongue is taut and tight and then getting the most important nutrient that our body needs, which is air.

That is a reason why I really focus on snoring, is because air is one thing that our bodies need in order to survive. We can live without food, we can live without water, but we cannot live without air, and we want good quality air. My goal was to really impact good quality air and really increase longevity, really give you confidence that you are getting the best rest that your body can have, so can live a long, healthy life. And mainly snoring is really concerning, so is sleep apnea or upper area resistance, which is beginning stages of apnea. All of those are really important because it really can have an impact on how long we live.

We now know that most heart attacks happen between six… well, 10:00 P.M. and 6:00A.M. when we’re sleeping. So the tongue is a major player in our airway, so the air goes through the nose to the back of her throat, which is where a tongue connects, and down. So that tongue is really critical. If the tongue blocks the airway you hear… which is why it’s an alarm bell. When that tongue completely collapses and you stop breathing, we call that sleep apnea, which is very dangerous and life-threatening. So that’s the reason why I chose to really look at snoring and I chose to look at the airway.

Snoring Can be Very Dangerous

John: So, snoring is more of a problem than just annoying your spouse that you’re spending the night with. It can be really dangerous for yourself if you’re not getting enough air and you’re actually stopping breathing like sleep apnea.

Dr. Nammy: Yes, it’s very concerning and it’s very problematic, and most importantly, it’s life-threatening. Most doctors are not going to look at this because most doctors are just worried about keeping you alive because you’re in the hospital. Our focus is prevention, and especially as dentists, it’s very important that we look at it because we’re part of the oral cavity. The tongue is inside the mouth, it’s part of the oral cavity. It is also part of your oral and… well, your nasal passage, and it’s very critical in your entire airway function. It really impacts your health and more than you think it does. Sometimes we think about the mouth, we don’t really think about breathing as part of the mouth. But it’s actually one of the critical functions that the mouth actually has, which is to support the nasal cavity to be able to breathe easily and effortlessly.

What Dental Problems can Cause Snoring and Sleep Apnea

John: So, what are some of the problems from a dental perspective that you can actually have with your mouth as well if you’re snoring or you have sleep apnea?

Dr. Nammy: Wow, so many times I see patients chipping and cracking their teeth because they’re grinding if they have sleep apnea. Also, if they have trouble breathing, which is huge. I also see patients with a lot of gumline fractures. I also see patients with a lot of gum disease, a lot of acid reflux, which causes cavities. All of these stem from an airway concern. These patients a lot of times are complaining about irritability, inability to sleep. Also, ADHD is very common, also not being able to focus in a way they would normally be able to focus. So that’s a huge thing. Also, depression and anxiety, which pretty much after COVID everyone has gotten some form of anxiety I feel like, but all of that can be alleviated and improved if we focus on improving the airway function.

How Does Laser Treatment for Snoring Work?

John: So, talk a little bit more about how the laser treatment works and how it helps to treat patients’ snoring issues.

Dr. Nammy: The laser is really great because just like the way we have lasers that tighten up the skin muscles on the outside, this laser is a fractional laser. So what it does is that it stimulates our body. So let me backtrack a little bit and explain this to you. Our body stops producing collagen at the age of 25, new collagen that is. And so as we go throughout life, the only time the body will produce more collagen is if we give it a stimulus. So the laser beam is a stimulus. It kind of scratches the surface and says, “Hey, body, make more collagen, make more collagen.” So what we’re using is using our own natural body’s defenses and creating new collagen and tighter fibers. So what we’re doing to the palate and the tongue is just irritating it a little bit and saying, “Hey, make those fibers really tight and strong and open up that airway,” and that is what we’re doing. And it happens naturally using the own body’s natural defenses, which is phenomenal.

What to Know About Laser Treatment for Snoring

John: So, what should people know about the procedure or the treatment before they go and get that done?

Dr. Nammy: The most important thing to know is to be hydrated. Water is very important during the procedure. But most importantly, seek help. If you’re snoring, come on in. If you suspect sleep apnea, come on in. We’ll help you out, we’ll help you diagnose, we’ll educate you throughout the procedures. It’s a very easy procedure, honestly. I would say it takes 10 to 15 minutes. Majority of the patients get 90% improvement within the first treatment. Very few people need a second treatment or a third treatment. But it’s like a magic wand, it does a world of wonder. So I would just say come on in. And also, it’s easy. It’s not painful. It’s not uncomfortable. It’s very easy, very comfortable, quick process. It has no downtime. You can do whatever you want. You can exercise, you can just go back to daily life right after the procedure, which is awesome.

The most important thing I would tell people is that, “Hey, you notice a difference right away.” So majority of my patients of the way that I use the laser, and because I use some homeopathic medicine with it as well, we find that the laser patients go home right away. Within the 15-minute cycle we’re seeing their airway open up from here to here, which is phenomenal. We take before and after pictures so patients can see that. Now, that’s just the beginning, which is pretty darn awesome. And then the mouth continues to heal and that airway becomes tighter and tighter and tighter and more open as a result over the next 21 days. And it stays like that for a good year, year and a half or so.

John: All right. Well, that’s really great information, Dr. Nammy. Thanks again for speaking with me today.

Dr. Nammy: My pleasure.

Get More Information About Treating Snoring with Lasers

John: And for more information, you can visit the website at sfgreendentist.com or call (415) 433-0119.