St. Augustine, FL
Symptoms of sleep apnea can look different in children than they do in adults, sometimes making it hard to diagnose. Child sleep apnea is often confused with other behavioral issues, such as ADHD or ADD, and symptoms can include bedwetting and night terrors.
Sleep is important for all ages, but it’s especially important for a child’s physical and cognitive development. While sleep apnea is usually associated with adults — and usually with respiratory issues — research is digging deeper into how the common adult sleep-breathing disorder can also plague children … and how it’s often actually rooted in a dental issue.
If you’re a parent, we know how heartbreaking it is to see your child struggle with sleep disorder symptoms. That’s why we’re writing today’s blog. Our St. Augustine sleep apnea dentist is sharing tips today to help you understand what sleep apnea in children looks like and how we can work to treat it, giving your child the solid night’s sleep s/he needs and deserves.
What are the symptoms of pediatric sleep apnea?
Let’s begin by taking a look at some of the most common ways sleep apnea can appear in children:
- Behavioral Issues
Sleep-breathing disorders in children are often misdiagnosed as ADD or ADHD or other behavioral problems. Some of the children who have been treated in our St. Augustine family dentist’s office have even been able to replace medication for these misdiagnoses with holistic treatments that have curbed the symptoms thought to be caused by a behavioral issue. - Bedwetting
Bedwetting in older children can frustrate and perplex parents, and it can limit children from being able to be social with friends. Research indicates that one out of every six kids between the ages of 4 and 12 — or 18 percent — suffer from bedwetting, which can be caused by mouth breathing and the often-related imbalance of oxygen due to airway constriction. - Night Terrors
Night terrors are traumatizing not only to children but to their parents. When children have sleep disorders such as insomnia or sleep apnea, they suffer from restricted oxygen during sleep. The brain often responds to this subtle form of suffocation by going into fight-or-flight mode. This can result in what we call night terrors, a type of parasomnia characterized by sudden episodes of intense fear or terror during sleep. - Mouth Breathing
Mouth breathing may seem like no big deal in sleeping children, but it’s a symptom of pediatric sleep disorders that warrants immediate attention by our family sleep apnea dentist in St. Augustine. Mouth breathing carries many consequences.
Let’s take a look at some that are dental-specific:
- Tooth Decay and Gum Disease — Just like in adults, mouth breathing at night often leads to dry mouth, which reduces saliva in the mouth. Saliva is an important part of oral health because it washes away food particles, neutralizes acids and cleanses the gums and teeth, eliminating the risk of inflammation, infection and gum recession. A reduction in saliva because of mouth breathing, therefore, increases the risk of children developing cavities and gum disease.
- Malocclusions — Over time, mouth breathing can affect the positioning of a child’s tongue and lips, leading to improper alignment of the teeth and jaws. This can result in malocclusions such as overbites, underbites and crossbites, which may lead to the need for expensive orthodontic corrections. Many of our pediatric patients have avoided the need for braces by early intervention to address the source of mouth breathing at night.
- Bad Breath — Dry mouth caused by mouth breathing can result in bad breath, formally called halitosis. This is due to the reduced saliva flow, which allows bacteria to proliferate, leading to an unpleasant odor in the mouth.
How is pediatric sleep apnea treated?
Many people automatically assume that sleep apnea is a respiratory issue, so they speak with their child’s pediatrician. While this is always a good idea, it’s also important to speak with your dentist because the root cause of a child’s sleep disorder could be due to dental issues that can be resolved in our St. Augustine family dentist’s office.
We frequently treat sleep disorders in children through the use of simple oral appliances that are custom-designed and fabricated. Children wear the soft, comfortable plastic trays during sleep to correct tongue and jaw posture. This opens the airway and limits mouth breathing. Oral appliances also help guide facial growth and jawbone development, widen dental arches and straighten teeth.
Pediatric Airway Dentist in St. Augustine, Florida
Watching your child suffer is a helpless feeling. Thankfully, advancements in dental technology have made it easier and more comfortable than ever to treat sleep disorders in children. With the simple use of oral appliance therapy, you can have a healthy, happier child with naturally beautiful straight teeth, a healthy airway and normal growth and development. And that gives us all something to smile about! If you’ve noticed any of the listed symptoms in your child, call us at Palencia Dental, 904-664-5254, or reach out to us online to schedule an appointment today.
