Sleep Apnea Screening

Sleep Apnea Treatment in Austin, TX

Breathing and Airway Development in Children

For these children, mouth breathing is not a choice, but it is a necessity in order to receive oxygen. An example of this is those that chew food with their mouth open. They are not being rude, rather, they are needing to breathe through their mouth as they are eating since they cannot breathe through their nose. This is important because nasal breathing provides up to 20% more oxygen uptake to the body and brain than mouth breathing does.

If your child has a cold, they will adapt to their situation and will only mouth breathe for a relatively short period of time. If it is a chronic problem, however, there will be a significant impact on the development of the face. This includes restriction of growth in the midface causing a flatter facial appearance and a narrow upper jaw. This is usually associated with a small and retruded lower jaw. The combination of these anatomical changes combined with the initial chronic problem contributes to even more breathing problems like Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) or Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS).

Sleep Apnea and ADHD

Physicians and parents are now encouraged by the medical community to consider OSA and/or other sleep disorders as a factor in ADHD, and to pursue sleep and airway evaluation in these cases before starting a treatment regimen of medication (which usually includes stimulants).

Our Diagnosis and Treatment Process in Austin

Identifying all the possible contributing factors to your child’s breathing disorder is extremely important. Narrow arches and retruded upper and lower jaws can be fixed with orthodontics and/or Orthotropics. If those conditions were originally caused by mouth breathing related to uncontrolled allergies or other anatomical blockages, and the underlying cause has not been addressed, then the orthodontic treatment will eventually relapse and the breathing disorders may return. On the other hand, if allergies and anatomical blockages have been resolved, but narrow and retruded arches still remain, they still may not be able to breathe correctly.

Consider the following questions:

• Does my child snore, gasp, choke, stop breathing, or move a lot during sleep?

• Does my child grind their teeth?

• Does my child suffer from chronic allergies?

• Has my child had frequent sinus and/or throat infections or ear tubes?

• Does my child toss and turn while sleeping and end up laying in different positions throughout the night?

• Does my child usually breathe through their mouth while awake and/or sleeping? Is their breath excessively smelly on waking? ( a sign of mouth breathing)

• Is my child hyperactive?

• Does my child have behavior problems at school, daycare, or at home?

• Is my child still wetting the bed and they are older than 5?

If you answer yes to any of the above questions, then it may be wise to seek an evaluation for sleep-disordered breathing. Here’s where to start:

Your Pediatrician

This is the first place to begin exploring if your child has allergies, sinus infections, or weight issues that may develop into a chronic condition that is affecting your child’s ability to breathe well. Your pediatrician can also screen for enlarged tonsils. Just because your child isn’t having throat infections does not mean the tonsils are not causing breathing issues. However, many pediatricians still do not seem to put all the pieces together when it comes to seeing manifestations of a breathing problem so they may not encourage you to get further treatment if your child has allergies or sinus infections. It is often up to you, as the parent, to recognize that these things are happening and deciding to seek further medical attention for your child.

An ENT

An Ear Nose and Throat doctor that specializes in airway disorders is one of the most important pieces to our team. Not all ENT’s focus on the underlying causes to the problems and simply treat the symptoms (ear tubes). If the tonsils and adenoids are chronically inflamed and/or infected, your child will continue to have breathing problems. A good ENT will be able to help you evaluate whether or not your child should have those removed, or, if simply improving the nasal passages before sleep (with doctor-prescribed nasal sprays) may be an appropriate first step.

A Pediatric or Orthodontist Specifically Trained in Functional Orthodontic Concepts

Everything talked about thus far can contribute to pathological bite developments that can further exacerbate any breathing issues your child may already be having. Treating those bite discrepancies in conjunction with addressing the underlying contributing factors is the best way to help your child achieve optimal breathing function at night and during the day. Here at Poplin Pediatric Dentistry, we can help work out a treatment plan for your child.

A Pediatric Sleep Specialist

A sleep study should be considered especially if your child does not demonstrate any chronic infections, allergies, weight issues, or bite discrepancies during evaluation, or if their sleep quality does not improve after treatment is completed in the other areas. Centralized Sleep Apnea (CSA) is generally not associated with the above conditions, but it could still be affecting your child’s ability to breathe and sleep well at night.

Call us today to schedule a consultation!

If you feel your child has trouble breathing or you were able to answer any of the questions above please give our office in Austin a call today to schedule a consultation.

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