CHILDREN AND SLEEP DISORDERED BREATHING
DOES YOUR CHILD?
- Does your child sleep in an abnormal position, with his/her head off the bed or propped up with pillows?
- Does he/she snore loudly and often?
- Does he/she stop breathing during the night for 10-20 second periods followed by choking, gasping, waking up?
- Does he/she sweat heavily during sleep?
- Does he/she sleep restlessly?
- Does he/she wet the bed?
- Is he/she difficult to wake up, even though sleep should have been long enough?
- Does he/she have headaches during the day, particularly in the morning?
- Is he/she irritable, aggressive or cranky?
- Does he/she fall asleep or daydream in school or at home?
- Is he/she having school-related or behavioural problems?
- Has he/she been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD)?
- Does he/she grind their teeth, particularly at night?
Sleep disordered breathing is the result of night time respiratory problems due to the obstructed, narrowed and collapsed nasal or oral airway. Sleep disordered breathing affects adults and children alike. In adults the airway loses its muscle tone during sleep and it collapses in on itself and as a result oxygen is blocked from entering the lungs.In children, this lack of oxygen during sleep is generally caused by one of two things: enlarged tonsils and/or adenoids or a malformation in the orofacial area ie: teeth, jaws, nasal passages.
Your child’s snoring or laboured breathing may be the vibration of the airway against swollen tonsils or adenoids as air tries to pass through to the lungs. It could also be as a result of constriction due to the structural problems in the teeth, jaws or nasal passages. Sleep disordered breathing ranges in severity from snoring to differing degrees of airway obstruction. At its most severe, the child chokes and wakes up; oxygen has been cut off and the body shocks itself awake so as to position the airway correctly again. If the adenoids and tonsils are enlarged your child will be referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist. If there is a malformation in the orofacial area, the dentists at Align Dental will treat the patient with dentofacial orthopaedic/orthodontic appliances to correct the structural imbalances present.
If you are not sleeping well your body never relaxes. It works hard at night and even harder during the day. It is important that you treat you or your child’s sleep disordered breathing as soon as possible.
“TRANSFORM YOUR SLEEP, TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE”
