The Silent Treatment Snoring Sleep Apnea Mouthpiece - How it works
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The first question people ask about The Silent Treatment is, “How does it work?” This is because it looks very different from the anti snoring devices that they are familiar with. So, let's start by examining what causes snoring, and its nasty big brother, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or OSA. Of the various body parts that interact with each other to make you snore, for most snorers, the tongue is the main culprit. Other bits and pieces back there affect the outcome to a greater or lesser extent, but, simply put, if there was no tongue there, there would be no snoring. Control the tongue and you control the snoring. You see, when you are awake, the tongue is instinctively held in a forward position, in a flattened shape. But when we are asleep, the tongue relaxes. It takes up a more humped shape, moving up and back towards the back of the throat. Before long it is almost touching the soft palette, and restricting the flow of air when you inhale. This makes the soft palette vibrate, which makes the snoring noise. If the tongue actually touches the soft palette, breathing stops altogether. This is OSA. Now, those old, familiar devices we looked at before try to stop that happening. The mandibular advancement device or MAD, forces your lower jaw forward of its natural position, relative to the upper jaw. The tongue, which is attached to the lower jaw, moves forward with it. This is intended to prevent the tongue moving back far enough to block the airway. And in mild cases, it does work, but forcing your lower jaw forward using your front teeth for leverage, will, over time, loosen your front teeth and damage your jaw joint. Now, there is another type of anti snoring device out there, called a Tongue Stabilization Device or TSD. These devices use suction on the end of your tongue to keep your tongue in a forward position while you sleep. This does work, but ... if you have ever examined your tongue closely in a mirror, you will have seen that the top surface of your tongue is covered in hundreds of tiny lumps. They're called papillae and they make it very difficult to get the TSD to seal around your tongue because the air leaks past them. So, even if you push your tongue very hard into the sealing ring, enough to actually injure your tongue with the amount of suction on it, your tongue will still come out of the ring during the night, allowing the snoring to start. So how does The Silent Treatment work? Well, those papillae that prevent the TSDs from working though the night, actually assist The Silent Treatment to keep the tongue in its awake position. The underside of the device is covered in hundreds of tiny spurs. These spurs are shaped, spaced and angled to precisely mesh with the papillae. This keeps your tongue in the flattened, forward position that it stays in when you are awake, but because there are so many of them there is no harm or discomfort. It's rather like Velcro. One hook and loop pair on its own would do nothing but hundreds of them working together is amazingly effective. The tendency for your tongue to rise as it relaxes keeps enough gentle pressure on the spurs to maintain the engagement throughout the night. And after a few nights of using the device, the phenomenon known as muscle memory will kick in.Your tongue is a muscle, and it will remember the position it has been staying in while you sleep and you will find you only need to use the device for a few hours a week, just to keep the memory active.
To fit it to your mouth, you will need to boil the device. The bulbs on the sides are made of a special material which will soften in boiling water enough for you to bite them into the shape of your teeth. When it has cooled down, and you want to use it, you simply pop it into your mouth, putting your tongue in a comfortable, forward position to engage with the spurs.
Update: The new style device (ST-2) does not require fitting and does not hold the lower jaw in place relative to the upper jaw.
STOP SNORING TONGUE TRAINER DEVICE
WHAT CAUSES SNORING AND OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA (or APNOEA)
We have gone through an extensive research programme to better understand snoring and OSA and the factors that cause it. We found out that when we are still awake, our tongue is instinctively bent forward and flattened out. But once we are asleep, it relaxes and goes back to its natural humped shape, causing it to move up and back. If there is nothing to prevent this happening, it partially blocks our airway and makes it difficult to breathe, resulting in the familiar snoring noise. In extreme cases, where the breathing stops altogether for significant periods, we have what is known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea which can be serious enough to be life-threatening.
HOW THE SILENT TREATMENT WORKS
This stop snoring tongue trainer device is different from the other products in the market. It is designed with hundreds of tiny spurs on the underside which are shaped, sized and spaced to precisely mesh with the hundreds of tiny rounded lumps (called papillae) that cover the upper surface of our tongue. Think of the device and your tongue as the two components of a hook and loop fabric fastener (such as "Velcro"). One hook and one loop on their own would do nothing but hundreds of them working together is remarkably effective. And your tongue actually requires very little restraint to prevent it moving back, so there is no harm or discomfort taking place.
Here's the deal: This stop snoring mouthpiece and OSA prevention device will comfortably hold the tongue in position and prevent it from drifting back and blocking the airway while sleeping. Additionally, a separate part of the device holds the lower jaw in its correct and natural position, relative to the upper jaw, and prevents it falling back. Because the tongue is attached to the lower jaw, these two separate actions combine to achieve complete control over the tongue position without either action needing to be so forceful as to cause discomfort or harm.
It gets better: After a while the phenomenon known as "Muscle Memory" will kick in, meaning that your tongue will 'remember' the forward, flattened position it has been staying in during sleep. This means that you are effectively "training" your tongue, and you will be able to go for several nights without needing to use your Silent Treatment. From there it only takes a few hours of use once a week or so to keep the memory active. For more information on muscle memory see our questions and answers page.
What's the bottom line? The device is very simple to use and we guarantee that, properly fitted, it will not cause any harm or discomfort to anyone who wears it. It is the new effective, affordable and harm free technology, which, experts agree, looks set to become the market leader in affordable self-fit snoring and OSA control devices.
Update: The new style device (ST-2) does not require fitting and does not immobilize the lower jaw relative to the upper jaw.
Disclaimer: Results may vary from person to person. Please see the "Our Guarantee" page.
BENEFITS
With The Silent Treatment, you and everyone else in the house will get a great night’s sleep! Everyone will wake up happy and refreshed. Our snoring solutions will also help improve your general health and wellbeing as the increase in oxygen intake takes effect. For more information on the health effects of snoring see the Questions & Answers page.
So, now you have all the facts, let's take a moment to reflect on what the future may hold for you.
Is your future full of nights spent repeatedly waking up choking, gasping for air, heart pounding, until that one time when you don't wake up? Poor quality sleep resulting in poor general health. Relationships strained to breaking point.
And if your condition hasn't got that bad yet, you should act NOW, before it does.
Get The Silent Treatment - Just US$62 (ST-1) US$48 (ST-2)
Update: The new style device ST-2 is now available.
Some of you have found the original Silent Treatment fitting procedure a bit vexing. . A few with small or unusually shaped mouths experienced some discomfort.. Or other problems which make fitting difficult have emerged, such as a severe overbite. Well, we have listened to your comments and we can now present our solution – the ST-2.
(We are now calling the original design the ST-1.)
While still using the patented and design registered technology to safely and comfortably hold the tongue and prevent it from moving back and blocking the airway during sleep, the ST-2 itself is held in place by a curved wall at the front which locates comfortably against the upper lip or the upper front teeth. There is no boiling and biting required – it is ready to start changing your life straight out of the box!
Additionally, the ST-2 has built in breathing channels for mouth breathers or for those users who, for whatever temporary or permanent reason, are unable to breath through their noses. Those users who don't need the channels can easily cut them off if desired, but in case a need does arise in the future, we are including an additional ST-2 device in the pack for free. This means you can have one with breathing channels and one without. And at US$48 for two devices, this represents incredible value which we may not be able to offer for very long. So order yours now!
The other issue we are working on is the abysmal delivery times we were seeing, with Covid related delays worsening an already bad situation when shipping from New Zealand. Now, buyers from the USA, Australia and, of course, New Zealand, can expect to receive their package within a few days of placing their order. In time other countries and regions around the world will enjoy similar delivery times. Watch this space!
So which one is right for you?
We believe the vast majority will find the ST-2 meets their every need so we suggest you try the ST-2 first. If it is not working for you, contact us and we will weigh up all the issues and we may decide that the ST-1, with its additional feature of holding the lower jaw in place relative to the upper jaw, is a better option for you. If you grind your teeth during sleep, go for the ST-1.
Purchase the ST-1 now Purchase the ST-2 now
USER COMMENTS:
Mike P, Cypress, USA: ".....a true breakthrough for treating OSA and snoring." (This is part of a large post on our Facebook page by a highly experienced respiratory practitioner . To see the entire post, click here
Karen H, Wailuku, Hawaii: "Thank you so very much! You have been responsive immediately with any concerns I have had. Your staff members are courteous and take good notes. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. It is a joy to wake up rested and restored."
Cathleen F, Miami, USA: "Yours is the only mouthpiece that makes sense."
Caroline J, Phoenix, USA : "I am writing to let you know that your little gem of a mouth piece works! I have tried everything else on the market and this is the only one that doesn't yank your jaw forward, or put strain on your teeth in a cumbersome mouth guard, and works, It holds the tongue down, which is the cause of all this stress at night on one's heart and lungs.....I don't wake up every morning just happy to have made it through the night, as I used to. I don't gasp for air in my sleep or wake up with my heart racing , nor do I fear going to sleep any more. It has given me peace of mind that I will wake in the morning. I think it will become my best friend...."
James W, Norwich, UK: "...... great product, thanks"
Neil O, Hamilton, NZ: "....brilliant! Changed my life."
Howard C, Adelaide, Australia: "Finally, a snoring product that works!"
Adrian H, Moreton Bay, Australia: "It amazes me how well it holds my tongue without any discomfort."
Michael C, Auckland, NZ: "Thank you so much. My wife is much happier now."
Charlotte R, Greeley, USA: "Such a clever little device, I love it."
Mike S, Del Mar, USA: "We had almost given up when we found your website."
Leon D, Bairnsdale, Australia: "Who would have thought such a simple little thing would make such a difference?"
Janet G, Bruceton Mills, USA: "Your product has changed my life."
Alfred C, Woodside, USA: "My wife tells me it works like a charm."
Gerry W, North Shields, UK: "We had tried everything, yours was the first that actually did work."
Patricia W, Arlington, USA: "I hated the CPAP, now I have dumped it."
Marilyn C, Tauranga, NZ: "...wonderful product. Thank you so much."
Jason M, Leicester, UK: "The MAD damaged my jaw, nothing else worked. The ST is great."
Janet W, Dartmouth, UK: "Such an obvious solution, when you think about it."
Peter V, Cairns, Australia: "...I travel a lot, which made the CPAP impractical. I never liked it, anyway. Your product is great. Thank you."
Gary F, Boise, USA: "...brilliant!"
Emily W, Melbourne, USA: "Your customer service is awesome."
Richard B, Bessemer, USA: ".... a truly ingenious idea....thank you very much for .... a real solution for me."
Jenny de G, Possum Creek, Australia: ... a great product ... I can't use a CPAP ...
Wayne G, Tweed Heads, Australia: "Thanks for the speedy refund. Your customer service is fantastic. I am really bummed that my mouth was too small for it - I still think it is a brilliant concept. Please let me know if you make a smaller version."
Mike K, Traverse City, USA: I have to say that your product and your website are high quality and your service and response time are superior. I’ll bet you have very few returns and complaints about your product. Today it seems there are many individuals and companies who promise the moon and just don’t deliver, especially overseas based ones. Thank you for being an honest and customer oriented business...
Alex D, Auckland, NZ ....this clever device worked very quickly and with minimum of discomfort. As a psychologist I already understood the muscle memory concept in 'programming' the motor cortex of the brain, but have experienced this in action. It really is true that once the tongue remembers to stay forward one would only need to use the device now and then.