Obstructive Sleep Apnea: What Keeps You from Breathing at Night

Obstructive sleep apnea, also known as OSA, is the most common type of sleep apnea. Bethesda Center for Family and Cosmetic Dentistry provides people in Maryland with treatment for this sleep disorder. OSA is characterized by breathing passages being momentarily obstructed during sleep, leading to gasping and skipped breaths. The person tries to inhale but cannot get any oxygen since the airway is blocked.

Seeking obstructive sleep apnea treatment from Bethesda Center for Family and Cosmetic Dentistry can improve your overall health, but that's not all. There's another real benefit of sleep apnea treatment, and that's treating snoring. If your husband or wife snores, you know just what a prize that would be. Research suggests that snoring treatment can actually improve the quality of a marriage!

Not everyone who snores suffers from sleep apnea. On the other hand, people with sleep apnea almost always snore. Snoring is just the rumbling sound of breathing, and it's not a health problem in and of itself. Sleep apnea, however, is sleep disordered breathing, and it can have negative health consequences.

Treatment options include lifestyle changes, CPAP breathing machines, and oral appliance therapy. Only in the most serious situations, when other treatments have failed, is sleep apnea surgery considered. Surgery removes the oral and throat tissue that block the airway.

No matter what, treatment begins with a consultation. If you're near Bethesda and think you might be suffering from sleep apnea, call us at (888) 680-8757 to schedule an appointment.