Increased Risk of Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Orthodontic Patients

Do you work in an orthodontic practice? If so, you may want to be on the lookout for signs and symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Dental Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. They recently published results showing that 7% of children seeking orthodontic treatment have sleep disordered breathing.  Children who experience low-quality sleep due to this disorder tend to experience the following: hyperactivity, snoring, mouth breathing, and difficulty concentrating.

Results of the study “Sleep Disordered Breathing in Children Seeking Orthodontic Care,” published in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, are based on a sleep survey completed by 303 children age 9 to 17 or their parents, which found that about 7% responded with enough “yes” answers to put them at high risk for sleep-disordered breathing.

Fortunately, orthodontists are well positioned to recognize whether a child’s facial development or jaw alignment was affected by breathing problems and make a referral to a sleep specialist.

J. Martin Palomo, DDS, MSD, the study’s lead author, and professor in the Department of Orthodontics at the CWRU School of Dental Medicine also believes, based on published reports, that many children with sleep disorders are misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He says, “I think it’s important to rule out sleep disorders before a patient is medicated for ADHD.”

 To read more about sleep-disordered breathing in children click this link: https://dimensionsofdentalhygiene.com/article/sleep-disorder-detection-in-children/