Can Braces Open Airway?
When you consider orthodontics, you probably think of straightening teeth. Most adults assume that orthodontics just treats issues that correct the misalignment or the malocclusion of teeth. Recent studies have now shown that orthodontics can also treat airway issues.
Mouth Breathing and Orthodontics
There is a direct relationship between craniofacial development and proper airway development. Craniofacial malfunction, like a narrow plate or a cleft palate, can often result in airway obstructions and breathing difficulties. This makes it harder for you to breathe through your nose, resulting in chronic and even dangerous mouth breathing. Mouth breathing can result in serious health issues, like sleep apnea.
Constant mouth breathing can lead to dental deformity, especially in children, and can cause molar eruption and lower jaw rotation. It will dry out the oral cavity, resulting in bad breath, tooth decay, and even gum disease. This can be treated by orthodontics. When identified early, orthodontics can restrict mouth breathing by gently expanding the jaw, which then widens the mouth and clears the sinuses. This results in easier breathing through the nose.
There is a new branch of orthodontics called airway orthodontics specifically treating airway issues. They look beyond the teeth to the throat, nose, and the muscles of the tongue, face, and neck to maximize airways.
Can Braces Open Airway?
Sleep apnea can be treated with an orthodontic solution. Airway-focused orthodontics addresses the link between proper breathing and long-term health benefits.
Research has proven that if the body struggles for adequate oxygen over an extended period it will increase the risk for numerous health problems. Events of complete or partial upper airway obstruction during sleep, known as obstructive sleep apnea, happen with more than 18 million American adults, and around 5 percent of children.
Orthodontic treatment can be developed around sustaining the best airway possible, especially in children when the problem is caught early. Airways can be enlarged and properly developed. This is essential if you are suffering from sleep apnea and crucial in children at risk for developing sleep apnea. The risks include medical health problems like heart disease, learning and behavioral problems, and impaired growth.
Braces To Open Airway
Orthodontic braces can help in eliminating the following problems:
- Snoring and Restless Sleep
- Moodiness and Aggressive Behavior
- A Short Attention Span and ADD/ADHD
- Ear/Sinus Infections and Swollen Tonsils
- Narrow Jaws, Facial and Jaw Deformities
- High Blood Pressure and Lung Disease
- Mouth Breathing and Bed Wetting
- Overweight/Obesity
- Daytime Drowsiness and Diminished Mental Capacity (IQ)
- Chronic Allergies
- Enlarged Adenoids and Overlapping Incisors
Orthodontics and braces can help make airway and breathing improvements to correct any of these issues.
Mouth breathing is reversible in children when an orthodontist identifies it. The American Association of Orthodontists promotes orthodontic evaluations for children at age 7.
At that age, most children will not require intensive work. The treatment may include a device to expand the jaw. This process results in the mouth widening and opens the sinuses, making it easier for the child to breathe through the nose again.
Other Treatments
Your dentist will focus on any underlying causes that can help correct the condition. It might be antihistamines for allergies. It might require changes in your choices of foods and drinks to stay away from things that hurt you. Alcohol could hurt you and make your mouth breathing worse.