A dentist in the dental surgeon’s chair – ” I got rid of my snoring and shortness of breath ”
Heavy snoring, apnoea or shortness of breath have many possible causes. But did you know that an undersized bottom jaw can be the primary cause of this? Twenty percent of snorers have a jaw which is too far back in the mouth and droops during sleep. The result? The tongue and epiglottis sink until they’re nearly in the pharynx. This causes snoring and also reduces oxygen intake!
Dentist Rick den Heijer, owner dental practice Mondcentrum Drunen practice, was a case in point. The annoyances caused by the condition of his bottom jaw were weighing so heavily on him that he decide to have a Bimax done — a surgical procedure to correct the alignment of both the upper and the lower jaw. This interview tells you how that went for him and what it felt like to be sitting in the chair himself for once. We also spoke to his treating dental surgeon, Marc Bronkhorst. A remarkable situation, and an equally remarkable procedure
Rick, can you tell us what prompted you to have this work done?
“A while ago, I attended a lecture by Marc Bronkhorst, a Dutch dental surgeon. He was lecturing on snoring and apnoea, the role played by the jaw in those conditions, and what you can do to tackle them. As he spoke, I realised he was describing me in terms of various symptoms that he listed, although until that moment I’d not really been aware that this was the case. From that moment, the ball started rolling, as it were. Of course, I did already know that these complaints existed, but actually I’d not grasped what the knock-on effect was on your daily life. I was a pretty heavy snorer, and this was disturbing my wife’s sleep as well as my own. In addition, I was regularly out of breath, and was dozy in the mornings.”
Once you were aware of the symptoms, what did you do?
“I made an appointment with Marc to look into whether my symptoms really did have to do with my backwards-hanging bottom jaw. It didn’t take long to establish that this was indeed the cause of my problems. On Marc’s advice, I decided to tackle it by having my jaw operated on, to broaden the airways. This jaw operation is one that’s often undertaken for purely aesthetic reasons. Making the jaw jut out more will give you a better side profile, for instance, and a nice firm jawline. But what’s still fairly little known is that this procedure can be a solution for problems such as snoring and shortness of breath.”
Moving a jaw doesn’t sound like a particularly straight forward procedure. Marc, could you explain what the operation planning involves?
“You’re right, it isn’t easy, and there’s quite a bit of preparatory work first. For example, it’s important to make sure that the top and bottom teeth will still occlude properly after the jaw has been moved. To ensure that they do, it’s necessary in most cases to fit a brace first. Rick needed a brace to draw his bottom jaw out, giving him a rather protruding bite. Operating on the bottom jaw after that to bring it forward thus ensured that it once again slotted into place well with the upper jaw. This creates more room for your airway, pretty much putting an end to the patient’s snoring or shortness of breath.”
Despite the many benefits of this procedure, it’s a very littleknown option. Why is that, Marc?
“Most dental surgeons never do this procedure, because they find it worrying or too difficult. However, I’ve done it numerous times already, so I have a very different view of matters. If the procedure is done competently, there are next to no compli- cations at all, while the patient gets massive benefits from it. After this procedure, people have a lot more energy and sleep much better. In addition, this treatment brings many aesthetic benefits. Your face is improved, your jawline is tighter and the lips have more volume. In my view, this is a procedure that ought to be carried out far more often, given how many peo- ple there are who have snoring problems.”
How do you look back on the operation, Rick? Was it troubling or painful? And, even more importantly, has it cured you of your problems?
“I was operated on over four months ago now, at the end of 2017, and it all went swimmingly. Even though it’s quite a stressful thing to undergo, and I did have a couple of worrying moments, I didn’t doubt what I was doing. I placed my full confidence in Marc, since he himself has had this operation and is a very experienced expert in this domain. For the first four weeks afterwards, I could hardly talk and could pretty much only eat or drink through a straw. Cleaning my teeth was impossible, too. During that period, blue®m mouthwash was a huge boon: it allowed me to keep caring for my mouth. I no longer snore, I wake up much more refreshed than before, and I no longer struggle with my breath. More importantly, my wife enjoys much deeper and sweeter sleep now. I’d go through it all again if I had to.”
And what was it like to be the guy in the chair for once?
“Fun, actually, and a learning experience. Normally, you just refer a patient with this condition and don’t find out anything more about the treatment which is given. In this case, you’re experiencing the whole trajectory and the procedure for yourself. That’s a very salutary thing to experience once in a while. It allows you to empathise much better with the fear and pain that some patients have to undergo. What’s more, I now have a different view of this procedure. It’s not merely an aesthetic option, it’s also a treatment with preventive effect. It can put paid to snoring and respiratory issues.”
What did it feel like, Marc, to have a dentist in the chair in front of you?
“I do regularly treat dentists, or colleagues’ children, so it wasn’t anything new for me. Having said that, I did really enjoy doing this procedure. Rick appreciates the benefits of this operation, and that gives me a positive experience from it. It’s great when someone grasps the benefits of this procedure and experiences it for himself. This can only serve as confirmation that we’re doing the right thing.”
“I’m free of my snoring and shortness of breath”
“I was regularly out of breath, and was dozy in the mornings.’’
“I’d go through it all again if I had to’’