When Breathing Stops at Night: What Patients Should Know About Sleep Apnea
Contributed by DentalROI
Sleep apnea rarely announces itself. It doesn’t cause sharp pain or sudden changes in appearance. More often, it hides behind everyday fatigue, irritability, or the kind of snoring partners joke about until it becomes impossible to ignore. Yet for those living with it—many unknowingly—the consequences extend far beyond tired mornings.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disorder that interferes with breathing during sleep. In some cases, breathing stops for only a few seconds; in others, episodes may last nearly a minute. These pauses can happen dozens or even hundreds of times each night, breaking up sleep in ways that patients are often unaware of.






