Effective alternative to conventional sleep apnea and snoring treatment available in Annandale, VA

The health of an estimated 22 million Americans is impacted by sleep disorders. Considering the vital nature of breathing and quality sleep, that figure is a tragedy. Fortunately, you have taken the first important step toward improvement by visiting this website. Annandale, VA, biological/holistic general dentist, Dr. Gyu Hwang, has received training at the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine in the treatment of sleep apnea, sleep disordered breathing, and snoring.

Do you have sleep apnea?

Underlying sleep apnea causes vary from person to person. However, obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the path air follows into and out of the lungs narrows or closes off during sleep. These pauses in breathing deprive the brain and body of oxygen. The brain senses this threat and sends a rush of adrenalin to wake you, which interrupts sleep . . . many times through the night. Severe apneics have dozens of episodes per hour, keeping them (as well as their bedmates) from reaching deep levels of sleep where cellular rejuvenation occurs.

Sleep Apnea Cause And Effect

Video Transcript

When you breathe, air travels down your throat, through your windpipe and into your lungs. The narrowest part of that pathway is in the back of your throat when you’re awake muscles keep that pathway relatively wide open but when you sleep those muscles relax, allowing the opening to narrow. The air passing through this narrowed opening may cause the throat to vibrate, that causes snoring, which many people experience but in some people the throat closes so much that enough air can’t get through to the lungs. When this happens the brain sends an alarm to open the airway. Most often this is associated with a brief arousal from sleep. The brain quickly reactivates the muscles that hold the throat open. Air gets through again and the brain goes back to sleep. This disorder is called obstructive sleep apnea.

While loud, erratic, or chronic snoring is a noticeable indicator, there are many other sleep apnea symptoms including:

Non-CPAP treatment for snoring and sleep apnea in Annandale, VA

Do you want to stop snoring and start getting healthier sleep? Does the idea of trying to rest wearing a facemask and tethered to a CPAP machine sound unrealistic? Dr. Hwang can help with proven non-surgical solutions for snoring and sleep apnea.

CPAP forces the airway open using a facemask, with pressure from a continuous stream of air produced by a compressor. Dr. Hwang takes a different approach, with a custom-fitted mouth guard. This small appliance fits over teeth, gently repositioning oral posture. As it holds the mouth slightly open, it prevents the jaw from dropping back toward the neck as you relax, and the airway stays open.