Breath is essential to our health and well-being. Breathing sustains our bodies by delivering oxygen-rich blood to all of our vital organs.
Disordered breathing, meaning any disruption or malfunction in the respiratory system, can have profound effects on oral and overall health. Signs of disordered breathing include:
- Persistent mouth breathing
- Loud snoring or interrupted/labored breathing while sleeping
- Chronic dry mouth
- Morning headaches
- Daytime grogginess/drowsiness
- Irritability and mood swings
- Bedwetting (in children)
- Clenching and grinding teeth (bruxism)
- Forward head posture
- Face, neck, shoulder, and joint pain
Disordered breathing is common in adults and children and stems from a poorly developed or obstructed airway. Some common repercussions of disordered breathing are:
- Obstructive sleep apnea,
- Malformation of the jaw and facial features,
- Behavioral issues, ADHD
- Chronic dental problems
- Higher risk of respiratory and sinus infections
- Allergies and asthma
- Anxiety and depression
- Cognitive issues
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Cardiovascular Disease
Call Your Bozeman Airway Dentist
- Airway dentistry looks at the structure of the mouth and airway and the consequent effects on breathing. An airway dentist looks for signs of disordered breathing that manifest inside the mouth. Things like excessive tooth wear and tongue position help airway dentists diagnose disordered breathing.
- Airway dentistry focuses on proper airway function by addressing common breathing disorders with orthodontics, custom oral appliances, and myofunctional therapy. Clear aligner therapy and functional appliance therapy are often used to increase oral cavity volume, which widens narrow arches and promotes proper tongue placement.
Through airway dentistry, Dr. Cassandra Murphy has access to craniofacial growth and development and expansion treatments for children and adults.
The Goal:
Restore Functional Breathing
Ideally, air should move freely and silently through the nose without obstruction. That is called functional breathing. Underdeveloped oral structures leave insufficient space for the tongue, which then becomes a breathing obstruction. As muscles relax during sleep and gravity does its job, the tongue collapses into the back of the throat, blocking it. As a result, we breathe through our mouths, snore, or even stop breathing altogether. Airway dentistry seeks to eliminate this problem and restore functional breathing, preventing sleep apnea and snoring, and the host of effects these issues have on oral and overall health.
