Did you know that the professionals at Adams Dental and the Integrative Dental Center at Adams Dental offer our patients expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of many airway disorders, including sleep disordered breathing and obstructive sleep apnea?
Airway refers to the passage by which air reaches the lungs. The problem is that airway can be affected by anatomical issues such as enlarged adenoids and tonsils, a deviated septum, congestion, allergies, asthma, and a narrow jaw. All of these things may contribute to a change from healthy nasal breathing through your nose, to mouth breathing. Mouth breathing is not as efficient as nasal breathing because of the way the air flows.
Quite simply, your airway and the shape of it, or anything that interferes with it, prevents efficient breathing and the flow of oxygen to the lungs and to the brain. Many children (and adults) who have problems breathing due to allergies or enlarged tonsils and adenoids may snore at night – a sign that their airway is interrupted. Some even have apnea, a situation where the breathing stops for up to a minute at a time, many times throughout the night. The stops in breathing lead to poor sleep.
Consider what happens to a developing child’s brain if there are regular interruptions in oxygen. Snoring in children has been associated with problems in memory, language and poor academic performance. Common physical changes associated with airway disorders are often related to tooth and jaw positions and can include narrow upper arch, long and narrow face, poor tongue posture, crossbite, and open mouth posture. The American Academy of Pediatrics thinks that airway health is so important that they have issued new guidelines for screening children and adolescents for snoring at routine visits.
Additional Information
- Presentation: Dr. Adams presented on the topic of “Clinical Indicators for Sleep Disordered Breathing and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (SDB/OSA)” > Review the presentation.
- Articles: The Adams Dental website has several airway-related articles > Read the articles.
If you think that you or your child may have an issue with airway structure or performance, we can help you define the problem and provide treatment options to remediate it. Treatment suggestions may include myofunctional therapy, orthodontics, breathing reeducation, or other remedial methods. Please call Adams Dental at (973) 377-6500 for your personal consultation.