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Does your child snore?
Does he have trouble breathing through his nose?
Does she walk around with her mouth open or have an open bite?

These are signs that your child has difficulty breathing through his/her nose.  Is this important?  Yes, it is very important that your child breathe through their nose.  Breathing is one of our most basic functions.  Our bodies will do whatever it takes to get in air.  If we can’t breathe through our noses, we have to change our breathing to our mouths.  This might not seem like a major issue, but it can have a drastic effect on our growth and development.

Growth

How we breathe effects how our upper and lower jaws, nose, and teeth grow.  In normal growth, our tongue sits in the proper place, which allows for correct jaw, nose and tooth growth.  When someone “mouth breathes,” they have to lower the tongue to get air.  This makes the face muscles squeeze the jaw, narrowing the position of the teeth and nose, making breathing though the nose even harder.

The late Dr. Jim Gary (inventor of the NUK pacifier) did a study on a set of 6 year old twins who both had blocking tonsils and adenoids.  Their bites were open (teeth don’t touch in the front) and they snored.  Dr. Gary had one of the twins’ tonsils and adenoids removed.   Over the next months, he monitored the progress.   As time went on, the boy without the tonsils began to grow normally.  The open bite closed and snoring stopped while the other twin stayed the same.  This shows very clearly how breathing properly effects your development.

Health Issues

What kind of effects can this have on our lives?

Studies have shown that “mouth breathers” have higher chances of Sleep Apnea, High Blood Pressure, Asthma, Speech problems, TMJ Problems (Bite Problems), excessive tooth wear, etc.  The treatment of Sleep Apnea is becoming one of the most important aspects in medicine.  Patients are getting diagnosed earlier and earlier.  If you go back in time, it always goes back to poor breathing during growth and development.

Treatment

What can be done?  Make sure your child can and does breathe through their nose.  Allergists can check for food and other allergies.  An ENT can see if the tonsils and adenoids are blocking the airway.  A sleep study can be done to rule out Sleep Apnea.  The treatment may be as simple as avoiding certain foods or taking allergy medicine or it can be as complicated as surgery (removal of the tonsils and adenoids to Jaw and nose surgery).  The earlier you address the cause, the easier the solution.

As you can see, how we breathe has a major effect on our lives and the lives of our children.  If you find you or your child have any of these problems, see a doctor or dentist trained in the management of breathing and sleep issues.  If you need help finding a doctor, please call our office and we will be glad to point you in the right direction.

By Dr. Michael J. Bixby, DMD FAGD

1. I snore. Could I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). What does OSA mean?
2. I hate my CPAP machine, what can I do?

Last month, I talked about how improper breathing as a child effects development and can lead to health issues later in life. This month, we will talk about how obstructive sleep apnea can affect you or your loved ones.

According to John Remmers MD (sleep disorder specialist), snoring is not normal and should not occur. Forty percent of adults over 40 years old snore. Of these, 60-80% have obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) – OSA is a sleep disorder where the person stops breathing during sleep. This causes a number of issues including lack of effective sleep and numerous health issues.

A number of studies have shown some very serious effects in patients with OSA:

1. 17% of the United States population has OSA. The problem is 95% don’t know they have it.
2. 90% of OSA patients have high blood pressure.
3. 65-80% of stroke patients have OSA.
4. The biggest of all: untreated OSA can result in a 20% shorter life expectancy.

Courtesy of Dr. John Remmers MD and Dr. David Gozal MD

Sleep Apnea in Children- OSA is present in 3% of all pre-school children. It may be responsible for a 10 point drop in I.Q. A study of poorly performing 1^{st graders found that the group had OSA 6-9 times higher than a normal group.}

Treatment – The most common treatment for sleep apnea is a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine (CPAP). This machine keeps a constant flow of air which keeps the airway open. This allows the patient to breathe uninterrupted during sleep.

There are a number people that have been prescribed a CPAP that cannot get used to it. Many choose not to use their CPAP. Based on the stats above, this is a pretty risky gamble. There is an oral appliance that has been shown to help patients with their OSA. Many patients that have sleep apnea benefit from an appliance that can open their airway by bringing the jaw forward. It is important however, to verify the effectiveness of the appliance with a sleep study. This will make sure that appliance is doing what it is suppose to do.

Sleep Apnea is a very serious condition, which will impact the quality and length of your life. If you think that you or a loved one has OSA, please get checked out by a sleep apnea doctor.