Safe Sleep, Healthy Growth: Understanding Sleep Apnea in Children

While estimates vary, it’s a safe bet to say up to 5% of kids have sleep apnea. If you think your child may have this condition, it’s time to schedule an evaluation. Left untreated, sleep apnea can have a signirican impact on their overall health and well-being.

You may wonder why an orthodontist would be concerned about a sleep disorder. The answer lies in how the condition is treated.

At Montclair Orthodontics in Oakland, we have guided many families in helping their children experience safe sleep and healthy growth. Here’s what you need to understand about sleep apnea in children.

What is sleep apnea? 

Sleep apnea is a common condition that causes a pause in your child’s breathing pattern while they sleep. 

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type. OSA occurs when muscles supporting the soft tissue structures (i.e., soft palate and tongue) at the back of the throat overly relax during sleep and block the airway. 

Central sleep apnea occurs due to a disruption in the brain’s ability to signal the muscles that support breathing to function properly during sleep. With either type, when your child’s breathing pauses, the brain startles them awake so the lungs will take a breath. 

These interruptions may be brief but can happen numerous times every hour throughout the night. This greatly limits your child’s ability to get a restful night’s sleep. 

Sleep apnea symptoms

Typical symptoms of sleep apnea include:

• Snoring
• Snorting, gasping, or grunting during sleep
• Difficulty waking up
• Excessive daytime tiredness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritability
• Morning headaches

Along with disruptions in school and social life, untreated OSA and the resulting poor sleep can result in elevated blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmia), and other serious health complications. 

How can we treat it?

Central sleep apnea requires a neurologist’s care. The treatment most familiar treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), provided by a CPAP machine that blows air through a mask to keep the airway open.

Many patients, especially children, find it difficult to tolerate the CPAP machine, so there are other options. Surgery to remove enlarged tonsils and adenoids is sometimes helpful, as are mouth and throat exercises to strengthen the muscles in the area.

Here at Montclair Orthodontics, Dr. Chad Watts can also provide orthodontic devices that treat sleep apnea. One option is a customized oral appliance designed to stop the tongue from falling backward and blocking the airway as you sleep. 

Other potential treatments include palatal expanders or surgery to adjust the jaw and widen the airway. Braces or aligners could also be an option if teeth misalignment is contributing to the sleep apnea.

If you need help walking through treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea, our team at Montclair Orthodontics is happy to help. 

To schedule an appointment, simply call our Oakland office or use our convenient online scheduler to book at your convenience.