Things Parents Need to Know About Hidden Airway Issues in Kids

What Parents Should Know About Hidden Airway Issues

As parents, we focus on and tune into our children’s health, which includes tracking their growth percentile, scheduling pediatric visits, and ensuring that they are hitting their developmental milestones on time. But there is a critical aspect of pediatric health that often flies under the radar: the airway. Your child’s airway can impact everything from emotional stability to sleeping to academic performance.

At Metro East Dental Care, we know that airway concerns in children are often overlooked because they don’t necessarily pertain to dental issues. Continue to read this article to learn more about what parents need to know about the hidden link between breathing, sleeping, and your child’s well-being.

Airway Issues Can Look Like ADHD or Behavioral Concerns

One of the hardest challenges in diagnosing a pediatric airway issue is that the symptoms often look like behavior problems. When a child isn’t breathing properly, the brain doesn’t get the restorative rest it needs. This can lead to a chronic state of exhaustion that doesn’t always look like sleepiness but instead can take the form of behaviors that include acting out.

Many children who are diagnosed with ADHD or other behavioral concerns may actually be struggling with an airway obstruction that hasn’t been diagnosed yet. Common issues that a behavioral issue might actually be a breathing issue include:

• Focus challenges and hyperactivity: An exhausted adult may become sluggish; a child’s body often does the opposite, and an exhausted child can often become hyperactive as their body tries to stay awake.
• Night terrors and disturbed sleep: Some children who gasp for air at night or are struggling to breathe can experience night terrors or frequent awakenings during the night.
• Irritability and emotional mood swings: A lack of oxygen and poor sleep quality can make it hard for children to regulate their emotions, which can lead to behavior meltdowns and moodiness.
• Late bedwetting: Sometimes, chronic mouth breathing and sleep apnea can disturb the hormones that regulate bladder control at night.
• Academic struggles: A child who is tired can have a hard time focusing, and their grades can suffer because of tiredness.

Poor Sleep and Breathing Affect Growing Bodies and Brains

How a child breathes dictates how their body grows. Humans are designed to breathe through their noses, as the nose acts as a filter for air. The nasal cavity also warms the air and promotes proper nitric oxide production, which is essential for oxygen transport to the brain.

When someone has a restricted airway, they will often default to breathing through their mouth. Restricted airflow is directly linked to restless sleep and daytime fatigue. If your child’s brain is constantly being signaled to wake up because it isn’t getting enough oxygen to it because of a restricted airway, your child never reaches the deep, restorative stages of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Over time, this lack of oxygen can impact your child’s growth and development, leading to a narrow face shape, dark circles under their eyes, and an arched palate that can cause more airway restriction to the nose.

Airway Evaluations Help Identify the Actual Cause

If you notice your child is snoring, grinding their teeth, or struggling with their behavior, it may be time to ask your child’s dentist for an airway evaluation. At Metro East Dental Care, we want to help your child breathe properly, as well as take care of their dental health, which is why we offer airway evaluations for both children and adults. We look at the size of the tonsils, the position of the tongue, and the shape of the dental arch. These things help us determine if there is a physical obstruction that is contributing to their lack of sleep. Remember, early detection is key in all of your child’s health concerns.

Treatment Often Focuses on Space and Muscle Function

Once the team at Metro East Dental Care has identified an airway issue, we can focus on finding a solution. Often, simple dental procedures can make all the difference. Those procedures can include:

• Palate Expansion: Many airway issues in children stem from a narrow upper jaw. Often, using a palate expander can make a difference. By widening the floor of your child’s nasal cavity, it can make it easier to breathe through the nose.
• Retraining Muscles: It isn’t always about the bones being out of shape. Sometimes, muscles are the cause of restricted airways. Sometimes, retraining the facial muscles to support the tongue’s posture is needed. A tongue should naturally rest on the roof of the mouth. If the tongue is sitting low, it can fall back into the throat and block the airway during sleep.

How Nuvola Invisible Aligners Can Support Airway Treatment

One of the treatments used at Metro East Dental Care for airway support is the Nuvola invisible aligner. These aligners can be designed to help gently widen the dental arches, creating the necessary space for the tongue to sit in its proper position. The Nuvola aligners help open your child’s airway to help with breathing, which can help improve your child’s overall quality of life.

Look Beyond Behavior

If your child is acting out and can’t seem to get a good night’s sleep, it’s time to look beyond their behavior to see if a restricted airway is the cause of their issues. At Metro East Dental Care in Granite City, Illinois, our goal is to keep your child happy and healthy. If your child is having behavioral issues and struggling to sleep, schedule an appointment to have your child undergo an airway evaluation.