Tongue Retention Device

About 40 percent of adult men and 24 percent of adult women habitually snore. To meet the needs of these snorers, a wide variety of snoring mouthpieces exist on the market today. While each one promotes a list of unique features that can help you stop snoring, it can be a challenge, with so many options, to know how to select the best mouthpiece for you. ZQuiet wants you to get to know some of the top snoring mouthpieces through this helpful feature breakdown to be better informed when you select a product. (Before reading our reviews, it might help to know a little bit more about snoring mouthpieces and how they work. See our break down of the different types of snoring mouthpieces here.)

Snoring mouthpieces typically come in two types, both which reduce the sound of snoring caused by tissue vibration in the throat by opening the airway. This results in quieting the snoring sound and allowing for more oxygen while sleeping. A mandibular advancement device (MAD) resembles what you’d picture when thinking about a mouthpiece an athlete would use. MAD’s focus on positioning your jaw slightly forward to widen and keep your airway clear. Tongue retention devices (TRD) focus on tongue placement. Sitting right on your lips, this device keeps your tongue slightly forward to help maintain a clear airway. Using natural suction, this device holds your tongue in place preventing it from falling back into your throat while you sleep.

When evaluating snoring mouthpieces to find your best fit, it’s important to look at a few key features for each device. You want to find a mouthpiece that’s convenient to use and comfortable. Let’s look at how a selection of popular snoring mouthpieces stack up to some of the most important features people look at when selecting a stop snoring device.

Many people want a snoring mouthpiece that’s ready to use with minimal preparation. However, many devices require you to boil and bite before that first night’s sleep. This process helps set the device to your mouth’s specific dimensions. After boiling the mouthpiece for around 30 seconds, you flash cool it and then bite down for another 30 seconds. Although once the process is complete, you’ll have a mouthpiece custom-fitted to your teeth, these devices are often bulkier than those ready out of the box since they require an extra layer of material just to mold to your mouth. Many dentists suggest that molding a mouthpiece be done by a trained professional in order to prevent any human error taking place during the setting process since once a boil-and-bite device is set, you are unable to modify it. Any issues with the mouthpiece after that first adjustment can lead to an ill-fitting piece that no longer works for your mouth. Anti-snoring mouthpieces ready to use right out of the box eliminate the need for any preparation on your end. No boiling and biting, no time spent at the dentist’s office getting your device properly fit. Ideal for home use, these devices are often thinner, take up less space in your mouth, and are easier to clean since there aren’t as many layers of material. To combat the custom-fit of boil-and-bite mouthpieces, those ready without any additional preparation offer alternative options to help you get the best fitting mouthpiece. Products like ZQuiet provides customers with a 2-Size Starter Pack, providing you with two unique mouthpieces, one that makes only a small advancement to your lower jaw, and one that adjusts it forward a little more. These options allow you to find the best fit, by simply trying on each mouthpiece rather than going through the boiling process.

Having to sleep with something in your mouth can automatically create an awkward sensation as you adjust to the device. It’s worth it to stop snoring, but you want to start with a device that’s able to decrease any discomfort. The amount of flexibility your snoring mouthpiece provides plays a big role in how quickly you get used to wearing it. Lacking full flexibility, bulkier devices like those that require you to boil before use often have hard outer shell in addition to the layer of material that actually molds to your mouth. This design not only creates a bigger mouthpiece but can also trap saliva between layers, making it harder to clean. Additionally, this design only provides a small hole to breathe through in the center of the mouthpiece. Between the actual size of the mouthpiece and decreased breathability, users can feel claustrophobic when trying to breathe through their mouths while sleeping. Those devices that don’t require boiling often have a slimmer design and may include features that allow for more flexibility. ZQuiet, for example, offers full flexibility through Living Hinge technology, which gives you a larger opening to breathe through your mouth regardless of sleeping position.

While many snoring mouthpieces allow for adjustments, most boil and bite devices only let you manipulate them before you boil, locking you into place with settings that might not be perfect for you down the road. Devices ready out of the box can provide you with adjustment options where all you have to do is try the mouthpiece to find the right fit to stop snoring. Adjustment amount varies by device, but most provide options between 2mm and 10mm. While measuring in millimeters is the common way to assess how much adjustment you need to effectively stop snoring, certain devices use other parameters to establish which mouthpiece will work best for you, such as what type of bite you have.

• ZQuiet - 2mm and 6mm 
• SnoreRX - up to 10mm 
• PureSleep - based on types of bite - standard, underbite, or overbite 
• VitalSleep - up to 8mm

With so many anti-snoring mouthpiece options available, selecting the right snoring mouthpiece is about more than the guarantee of effectiveness a device may offer, it’s about breaking down the essential features to determine the most comfortable, most effective, and most effortless stop snoring mouthpiece to use. Each of these popular devices has what it takes to try and help you kick snoring out of bed, but most likely only one will have the right combination of features to make the overall experience a success.