Sleep Disordered Breathing

An Apnea event is when we stop breathing during sleep.

In those situations, someone should be given a sleep study to determine how often these episodes occur, determining the severity of the disorder. The severity ranges from mild to moderate to severe. If someone has been diagnosed with sleep apnea, a large range of oral sleep appliances or C-PAP machines may be recommended for a patient to help allow more airflow for the patient during sleep.

If we don’t help control our sleep apnea or other obstructive sleep issues, we increase our risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, heart disease, arrhythmias, diabetes, strokes, and other chronic health issues.

Our Airway & Sleep-Disordered Breathing

I am interested in myofunctional therapy because I have seen my children and my patients suffer from poor sleep quality, and the effects are life-altering. When someone has sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) issues, they can suffer the following adverse effects:

Snoring
Upper airway issues (an upper airway issue that is blocking proper airflow)
Restless Leg Syndrome
Night terrors or night talking
Frequent arousals since our body have learned to be in “fight or flight.”

What about our younger kids?

It’s essential to ensure that our children are getting good quality sleep. There have been many studies linking children that suffer from sleep apnea or other sleep-disordered breathing and many adverse side effects, such as:

ADD/ADHD or other issues that affect focus in children
Bedwetting
Slow growth rate
Hormonal and other emotional regulations
Lack of thriving

Getting our children to have better sleep quality and restoring proper breathing early can keep them from growing up and developing properly, resulting in severe sleep apnea in adulthood.

Myofunctional therapy, in conjunction with orthodontics and expansion, can help guide the palate and proper facial development, which will help them breathe and help them thrive into their growing years.