Snoring is the butt of jokes in sitcoms and movies, and we often make light of it. However, the truth remains that it’s just plain annoying. In some cases, it can cause sleep partners to seek out new places to rest their heads, and this can take a toll on your marriage and your body.
It’s pretty safe to say nobody enjoys snoring. That’s why there are so many anti-snoring products on the market. Just some types include:
- CPAP machines
- Tongue stabilizing devices
- Sprays
- Pillows
- Nasal strips
Today, we’re going to be taking a close look at two mandibular advancement devices. They push your lower jaw forward in an effort to keep the tongue and soft tissue from falling back into your throat and blocking your airway. Although both were successful in putting a stop to my sleep partner’s snoring, you have to take you own personal circumstances into consideration to determine which will offer the most effectiveness and consistency.
Today, it’s my goal to provide a complete analysis of SnoreRX vs. VitalSleep with various examples of situations where one would be preferable over the other. Remember, I’m not a doctor, but I do have firsthand experience with both devices and sharing a room with someone with obstructive sleep apnea, so I hope the information I have to share can help.
Understanding How Mandibular Advancement Devices Work
It’s very common for the onset of snoring to come from the soft tissue and tongue relaxing into the back of the throat. When this happens, it can block the small airway, thus causing vibrations. Think of the last time you saw the flag waving in the wind. The oblique waves you saw are what caused the flapping sound you heard if you were close enough. In respect to snoring, these ripples manifest in the audible form of the nocturnal rumbles that keep you up at night.
If you were to stretch out the flag, these ripples would disappear, and this is basically what MADs do. By advancing the lower jaw forward, they create more tension to prevent relaxation of the tongue and soft tissue from allowing vibrations in breathing.
Ability to Customize through Boil-and-Bite
Both SnoreRX and VitalSleep employ the popular boil-and-bite customization method, so you do get the chance to personalize the product to fit your mouth. For the most part, the process is pretty universal aside from some small intricacies that do make a difference depending on the types of materials used. For example:
- SnoreRX requires you to submerge the device in boiling water for two to three seconds before biting down on the material to create your dental impression.
- VitalSleep has to remain submerged for five seconds with a ten-second wait time before you bite down.
This doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but it does matter. We’ve consistently found the boil-and-bite method to offer a higher degree of customization, and my sleep partner had a much easier time fitting SnoreRX. It’s larger than VitalSleep, and he has a large jaw. If you have a smaller jaw or are a female, I think you’ll have better luck with VitalSleep. I can get my mouth shut without effort, and you do want to try to sleep with your mouth closed in most cases.
SnoreRX vs VitalSleep: Which Will Stop Your Snoring?
The great news is that oth of these products stopped my sleep partner’s snoring. We tried out the male version of the VitalSleep device, and it was a bit small for my sleep partner. If you have a large jaw, I think you’ll prefer SnoreRX. This is also going be the better pick if you try to keep your mouth closed when you sleep or otherwise suffer from mouth-related rather than nasal-related snoring.
Hinge Technology & Denture-Compatibility with VitalSleep
VitalSleep does offer hinge technology to allow 25 degrees of mouth movement, a great feature if you rely on mouth breathing at night. VitalSleep is also worth a try if you wear dentures where SnoreRX is off the table.
Lower Jaw Advancement- We Preferred SnoreRX’s Convenient Option
Many MADs comes as-is when it comes to the degree of advancement you’ll experience in the lower jaw. However, both SnoreRX and VitalSleep allow for the user to make adjustments. Not only does this allow for more comfort, but it can also help you more closely target your snoring. Here’s how they work:
VitalSleep- You use the included hex key to move the lower tray back and forth.
SnoreRX- Offers their Micro Fit feature that allows you to precisely adjust the lower jaw advancement in one millimeter increments. I liked that you don’t have to use a tool to adjust it since the Posi-Lock feature locks your chosen setting so it doesn’t slip out of place as you sleep.
Aside from the convenience offered by SnoreRX, the lower mandible adjustment feature was equally-effective in our experience in stopping snoring. To help you get accustomed to having the device in your mouth, it helps to start using it without any lower advancement at all for the first couple of nights.This allows for a more gradual adjustment, something many products don’t offer.
Which Product is More Comfortable
Before we discuss comfort, keep in mind that, in our experience, we often found the products that were less comfortable were more effective in stopping snoring. Discomfort is typically temporary as you do get used to having these devices in your mouth. The only type of discomfort I’d be worried about is if you’re unable to close your mouth. With MADs, you typically want to be able to close your mouth with ease.
I have a smaller jaw than my sleep partner, and I found the VitalSleep device much more comfortable. It’s smaller both in length and width. My sleep partner, on the other hand, preferred the fit and feel of SnoreRX.
I definitely think VitalSleep is more adept when it comes to female snoring, especially considering the product we received was the male version. I can imagine the female version would fit me even more comfortably. If you do have a large jaw, SnoreRX is going to be a better option.
Easy Maintenance with Either Option
Some products require the use of special cleaning solutions, and this can be a hassle. However, with both VitalSleep and SnoreRX, just use toothpaste and your toothbrush to clean after each use, and store in the included carrying cases.
SnoreRX vs. VitalSleep: Best Option for Mouth Breathers
Although there are health benefits of sleeping with your mouth closed, some people rely on mouth breathing. Both products allow for this. For VitalSleep, this comes in the form of a very large and accommodating air hole in front. It uses hinge technology that allows for 25 degrees of jaw movement, and SnoreRX implements their V-Flow design. It’s pretty open all the way around, but you can’t open and close your mouth like you can with VitalSleep.
Personally, I prefer SnoreRX’s approach as I like to try to keep my mouth closed when I sleep, and this also helps keep drooling minimal. However, I think the additional freedom of movement allowed by VitalSleep could be preferable for mouth breathers.
SnoreRX vs. VitalSleep- Durability vs. Cost Breakdown
You can see these two products share quite a bit in common. Each offers the ability for mouth breathing and adjusting the lower mandible, and they both use BPA-free materials capable of undergoing the boil-and-bite customization process. Let’s take a moment to compare the expected durability to price ratio.
Which is the Better Value?
While I loved its Posi-Lock feature and think it’s more effective in stopping snoring in males with larger jaws, for the price, I’d like to see it last a little bit longer. When you break down the ratio of cost to durability:
- SnoreRX weighs in at around $9/month
- VitalSleep runs about $5/month
If you have a large jaw or suffer from snoring when your mouth is open, SnoreRx is worth the extra investment, in my opinion, despite the shorter durability. If you’re really not sure, VitalSleep offers a better trial period of sixty days with free replacements for a year compared to SnoreRX’s 30-day trial.
| SnoreRX | VitalSleep |
|---|---|
| Stays in place well | Higher degree of customization with Accu Adjust System |
| Hinge technology incorporated allows for 25 degrees of movement | |
| Great fit for men as it’s large | Offers versions for men and women |
| Customization through the boil-and-bite method | Longer trial at 60 days |
| 30-day trial period with the full money-back guarantee | Mouth breathing through large hole at front of device |
| Allows mouth breathing through V-Flow design | Slightly less expensive |
| Allows for lower mandibular advancement customization through Micro Fit feature | One year of free replacements |
| Can attempt the boil-and-bite method up to three times after initial try | Durability expectation slightly higher at around 12 months |
| Can be cleaned with toothpaste | Can be cleaned with toothpaste |
| Slightly more expensive | Can be used with dentures |
| Durability nine to 11 months | FDA-approved |
| Cannot be used with dentures | |
| FDA-approved |
Conclusion
If you wear dentures, VitalSleep claims you can use their device where SnoreRX, like most MADs, is not compatible. I’d check with your dentist before you use it, but, this could be the solution denture-wearers have been looking for.
VitalSleep has a better trial and replacement offer. However, people with large jaws may find a better fit with SnoreRX. It also doesn’t require you to use a hex key every time you want to make adjustments to the lower jaw advancement.
If the information provided here isn’t enough to help you make your decision, I’d start with VitalSleep and try it out for 60 days. If that doesn’t do the trick, then move on to SnoreRX. Both stopped my sleep partner’s snoring, so most of the quest is going to be in finding the device that’s most compatible with the size and shape of your mouth.
I hope we’ve helped make your decision a little easier. If you need any further information or have a question, we’d love to hear from you. Take a moment to fill out the form below, and we’ll get back with you soon.