Sleep-disordered breathing and sleep apnea are difficult enough to deal with when it’s an adult. When your child is suffering from sleep-disordered breathing, you just want to make sure they’re better. Dr. Caleb A. Robinson, a dentist in New Philadelphia, OH, specializes in sleep-disordered breathing. He explains the condition and how you can get your child the help they need.
What Exactly is Sleep-Disordered Breathing?
This term covers everything that causes breathing trouble when you’re sleeping. Disrupted breathing during sleep means that your brain and other organs aren’t getting enough oxygen. Your body then reacts with a stress response, because it’s registering this as choking while you’re asleep.
Since your body is reacting with stress, it’s going to do things that interrupt your sleep. The blood pressure rises, the heart rate slows, and your brain is active and alert. While you may not completely wake up, the brain is awake. It may not be able to do typical processes that it typically does at night that are essential to normal development and functioning.
How Do I Know if My Child has Sleep-Disordered Breathing?
Sleep-disordered breathing is often easy to misdiagnose. Many of the symptoms come off as symptoms of other conditions. The easiest way to tell your child has a problem is if they’re snoring or mouth breathing a lot as they sleep. Otherwise, look for these indicators of sleep-disordered breathing:
- Tiredness during the daytime
- ADD or ADHD
- Wetting the bed
- Eczema
- Swollen tonsils or adenoids
- Frequent headaches, especially in the morning
- Grinding their teeth
- Sweating excessively while they’re sleeping
- Irritability and uncommon aggressive behavior
- Struggles with schoolwork, especially math, science, or spelling
If you notice your child is exhibiting two or more of these symptoms, it’s time to bring them to see a New Philadelphia, Ohio dentist that specializes in sleep medicine.
Causes of Childhood Sleep-Disordered Breathing
The most common cause of this issue in children is that their jaw and mouth are underdeveloped. There are many reasons why this underdevelopment could occur. Thumb sucking and pacifier use, a diet that’s too soft, or just heredity could all be reasons for this occurring — or it can be a combination of multiple.
For this underdevelopment, Dr. Robinson utilizes something called The Healthy Start. It works with the natural growth spurts your child has so that development is encouraged where it needs to be. We can start using this system as early as age two, guiding the teeth and jaw to the proper positions and width.
Treatment at Your Dentist in New Philadelphia, Ohio
If you think your child is suffering from this condition, it’s time to get them treatment. Make sure your child’s oral development continues the way it should. Call us today or schedule an appointment online to get started!