Developing Healthier Smilesfrom the Inside Out.
Airway Issuesin Children
Breathing issues often signal developmental concerns in the jaw. We look beyond the smile to identify restrictions impacting your child’s sleep and health.
What are Airway Issues?
Airway issues and breathing problems while your child is awake or asleep can be caused by blocked airways or developmental issues in the jaw.
Does your child have a problem with chronic mouth breathing, snoring or teeth grinding? Maybe you’ve noticed dark circles under their eyes even after they’ve gone to bed on time. These issues could point to blocked airways or problems with breathing due to airway constriction.
This can have a significant negative impact on their oral and overall health, from obstructive sleep apnea and daytime sleepiness to distractibility and behavioural issues. Long-term, individuals can suffer from memory problems, obesity, headaches and even a decreased lifespan.
If caught in childhood, airway issues can be addressed with early orthodontic treatment such as palatal expansion, potentially improving outcomes for oral and general physical health over your child’s lifetime.
Symptoms of Airway Issues
If your child is suffering from airway constriction and breathing-related issues, you may see many symptoms, such as:
- Snoring
- Irritability
- Bedwetting
- Choking or drooling
- Obesity
- Headaches
- Chronic mouth breathing
- Slow growth
- Learning and behavioural disorders
- Teeth clenching or grinding
- Restlessness in bed
- Distractibility during the day
- Sleepiness or sluggishness
- Excessive sweating at night
How Airway Issues are Treated
Our team at Vivid Orthodontics can assess your child for airway issues by conducting a myofunctional orthodontic exam to look for common indications of blockages or constrictions, such as tonsils that are in an abnormal position, tongue tie, lip tie or an abnormally sized tongue.
With early orthodontic treatment, we can guide the growth of the jaw and face, and intercept negative habits.
Our goals often include the expansion of the palate and dental alveolar area. We may also need to create space for adult teeth to emerge and intercept potential negative development before it happens.
Faq
Understanding Airway Health.
It is common for parents to be surprised that an orthodontist checks for breathing issues. Here is how our airway-focused approach works.
The roof of the mouth is also the floor of the nose. If the upper jaw is narrow, it often means the nasal passages are constricted. As specialists in dentofacial orthopedics, we can modify the shape of the jaw to create more room for both teeth and breathing.
Breathing through the mouth bypasses the nose’s natural filtration and humidification systems. Chronic mouth breathing can alter facial growth (leading to a “long” face), cause gum inflammation, and prevent the deep, restorative sleep children need for development.
While braces align teeth, orthopedic appliances (like expanders) address the skeletal structure. In many children, expanding the palate to treat crowding has the secondary—and vital—benefit of opening the airway, which can significantly improve or resolve obstructive sleep apnea symptoms.
Watch for key signs: loud snoring, grinding teeth (bruxism), mouth breathing day or night, dark circles under the eyes, or waking up tired. If you notice these combined with crowded teeth, an orthodontic evaluation is highly recommended.
Breathe Better, Sleep Better.
If your child snores, grinds their teeth, or struggles to focus, the solution might be orthodontic. Schedule a complimentary consultation to assess their airway health and skeletal development.