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The Snore Store is a place to relax and find a simple and non-invasive solution to a noisy snore filled evening. Did you know that 80-85% of snoring is palatal snoring, and that is where we can help. As you age and gain weight, the soft tissues in the back of your throat and soft palate become slack. The vibration of these fatty or loose tissues makes the sound of the snore. The Solea Laser can help tighten those tissues and reduce palatal snoring. The laser doesn’t treat nasal snoring or Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), but it certainly doesn’t harm opening the airway as an adjunct to OSA treatments such as CPAP therapy.

First let’s look at the anatomy of the airway. The upper airway consists of the nasal cavities, oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx. The pharynx is further subdivided into the nasopharynx, oropharynx, and laryngopharynx. Our work to help you with snoring is done on the soft palate and oropharynx. If we can visualize the tissues, numb the tissues and comfortably reach the soft tissue at the back of your throat then we are going to laser the area.

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Now let’s look at a side view of a person laying down with a normal airway. Proper airflow through the nasal cavity and the Oropharynx into the larynx. As you can see the airway is open and air can pass freely without obstruction.

Palatal snoring is partial obstruction of the airway. This can be treated with the Solea laser. Palatal Snoring is the sound that occurs when air flows past relaxed tissues in the soft palate, causing the tissues to vibrate.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) occurs when throat muscles intermittently relax and block the airway during sleep, causing pauses in breathing that reduce blood oxygenation levels. We do not treat OSA with Solea laser. However, opening the upper away is always a great adjunct to allowing your CPAP machine to function more effectively.

What Causes Snoring?

Nasal Obstruction

Blocked nostrils as a result of deviated septum, cold/flu, pet or dust allergies, nose stiffness, or certain medications

Mouth Breathing

Blocked nasal passages, enlarged tonsils/adenoids, ankyloglossia (tongue tie-pictured)

Tongue Relaxation

When tongue is relaxed, particularly when person lies down on back; more likely in those who drink alcohol in excess, have excess fat around neck (pictured), or use certain sleep medications

Palatal Flutter

Vibration of soft palate tissue in the throat and about 80-85% of snoring cases – what Solea Sleep treats

Palatal flutter which is vibration of soft palate tissue in the throat, and this accounts for about 80-85% of snoring cases. This is what we treat with the Solea Laser. If you look at the picture bellow, you can see what the clinician will see when you open your mouth. You can visualize the soft palate, the palatoglossal arch (which is where the soft palate connects to the base of the tongue), the palatopharyngeal arch (which is where the soft palate connects to the pharynx) and the uvula.

The laser covers the soft tissues on the back of the throat in a 7mm hexagon pattern to quickly and efficiently cover large areas of soft tissue. Again, if we can see and reach the soft tissue comfortably, we use the laser on all the tissues. The tonsils are fair game to shrink, sterilize and open the airway.

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Now that you understand a little bit about the anatomy of the upper airway, and about palatal snoring let’s talk about how the Solea Laser works and why it is such an amazing tool for treating all the soft tissues in the oropharynx.

The Solea Sleep application works by using low level laser energy to tighten and shrink the tissue in the soft palate and suppress the vibrations that cause the sounds of snoring. The way this occurs is by causing the collagen in the skin to undergo a process known as “collagen remodeling.” When collagen is gently heated to the appropriate temperature, it breaks apart and is stimulated to grow back together in a state that is 13X stiffer than it was previously. Collagen remodeling starts to happen immediately after the collagen is heated to the required temperature and it continues to reform and tighten for a period of 30 days until it fully reaches its new tightened state.

Why Should I think about a Solea laser treatment?

The Solea laser works by applying laser energy to the tissue in the soft palate to heat the collagen in the lamina propria layer of the skin to the point that collagen remodeling occurs which tightens, shrinks, and stiffens the soft palate to open the airway and suppress the vibrations that cause the sounds of palatal snoring.

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Collagen Remodeling with Solea Sleep

Solea Sleep can reduce snoring with just one or two laser treatments that take about 15 minutes each. Solea is a CO2 laser that possesses a unique wavelength of 9.3 microns (compared to the 10.6 micron wavelength of traditional CO2 lasers). This 9.3 micron wavelength penetrates soft tissue to the ideal target depth of the lamina propria, the layer of tissue that is very rich in collagen. The collagen in the lamina propria absorbs Solea’s 9.3 micron CO2 laser energy in a very efficient manner, causing the collagen remodeling process to begin much faster than other laser wavelengths.

A single Solea Sleep treatment takes around 15 minutes for the doctor to cover the whole soft palate and uvula in order to stimulate collagen remodeling to occur. For about half of patients, just a single treatment is sufficient to create the desired results, while the other half of patients might require a second treatment about 28 days after the first. Once the collagen grows back together, and it remains in this new tightened state for at least 12-18 months. Eventually the tissue will relax back to its original state and the treatment will need to be repeated. So unfortunately, this is not a permanent procedure but is easily maintained. Similar to a Botox procedure with time and age, tissues will change. Treatment is different for every person as we are not made the same. Good advice is keeping a healthy lifestyle and BMI also minimizing alcohol consumption plays a role in the lovely sound of “the snore” as well.

Why Us?

The Solea laser is the most effective way to tighten tissue in the soft palate and reduce snoring based on the science of how well it’s wavelength targets and is absorbed by collagen in the lamina propria. It is basic physics that explains how Solea took an already well-known and widely accepted procedure and made it much faster and more efficient. In addition to the time and cost advantages of Solea Sleep, there is also less post-operative pain or discomfort with Solea because of how effectively 9.3 micron CO2 can target the collagen-rich lamina propria layer. It is not unnecessarily heating and damaging the layers of tissue that surround the lamina propria on either side. Check out our video library to see Solea in action. You can always come in for a free consultation to learn about Solea and how we can help you and your family snore less tonight!

Book Your Free Consultation Today!

Ready to reclaim peaceful, snore-free nights? Contact The Snore Store in Franklin, TN today to schedule your free consultation. Our team is eager to help you find relief with Solea laser treatment, so you can enjoy deep, restful sleep once again.

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209 South Royal Oaks Blvd
Suite 254
Franklin, TN 37064

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Phone: (855) SNORE 85
email: booking@thesnore.store

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