Advanced Cosmetic & Prosthetic Dentistry focuses on the mechanism of breathing because it has profound effects on your health. Called airway-centered dentistry, this special field of dental care optimizes your breathing to resolve common sleep-related disorders.
Are you looking for an airway dentist in Mendon, Massachusetts? Schedule an appointment with Drs. Alan Ko, Brittany Bressler, Cristina Hantavis, and Saeed Kashefi. We understand the relationship between the mouth tissues and your airway to address sleep apnea, snoring, mouth breathing, and other sleep-disordered breathing conditions.
What is airway-centered dentistry?
When we think about oral health, we often focus on our teeth and gums—keeping them clean, cavity-free, and healthy. But what if we told you that your ability to breathe healthily and naturally could be impacted by your oral health? This is the central idea behind airway-centered dentistry, a growing field that recognizes the crucial link between your dental structure and the ability to breathe properly.
Airway-centered dentistry goes beyond the traditional focus on teeth and gums. Instead, it studies how the mouth, jaw, and related structures impact the airway and overall breathing. Airway-centered dentists use this approach to assess how the tongue position, jaw alignment, and palate development can contribute to—or alleviate—airway issues such as sleep apnea, snoring, and other airway-related disorders.
Our office incorporates airway-centered dentistry into our care for pediatric patients. What could start as mouth breathing in children could turn out to be sleep apnea and other disorders later in life. Early interventions prevent further health complications and the need for extensive treatments in the future.
What is the link between jaw development and breathing?
It may surprise you to learn that jaw development can significantly impact breathing. Underdeveloped jaws lead to a restricted airway, making breathing difficult, especially during sleep. Structural abnormalities of the jaw can result in conditions like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), where the airway becomes blocked, leading to breathing stoppages when sleeping.
What are the common airway-related disorders?
OSA is a common sleep disorder that affects over 39 million adults in America. It occurs when the soft tissues in the throat collapse and block the airway when sleeping. The cessation in breathing happens for a scary 10 seconds or more, but the episodes can recur up to a hundred times a night. The common OSA symptoms include chronic snoring, morning headaches, daytime fatigue, and irritability.
Upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) is another sleep disorder similar to OSA. It happens when there is an increased resistance to airflow in the upper airway, particularly during sleep. UARS causes frequent awakenings at night, disrupting your healthy sleep.
The danger of sleep disorders is that they can increase the risk of severe conditions like heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and stroke. If you suspect you have a sleep-related issue, it’s crucial to seek treatment right away.
How are airway-related disorders treated?
We always use a conservative approach to address your condition—no surgery or cumbersome CPAP machines. Our doctor uses oral appliance therapy, where a custom-fitted dental device is used to reposition your lower jaw and suppress your tongue to promote healthy breathing. Sometimes, we use epigenetic devices to expand underdeveloped jaws to create room for healthy breathing. Additionally, our doctors may use airway orthodontics and myofunctional therapy to address the root cause of the problem.
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Airway-centered dentistry near me
The relationship between the airway and sleep is complex and multi-faceted, often involving early development, soft tissues, facial structures, and sleeping habits. Our doctors are specially trained in airway dentistry, helping treat the root cause of common sleep disorders. Call (508) 850-0686 to take advantage of our non-surgical approach to sleep-related problems.