When the kids or grandkids come for a visit do you hear them snore? Maybe you hear little ones grind their teeth or make unusual sounds when they sleep. Do your kids tell you of your grandkids having emotional problems, attention deficit problems or bed wetting? How about sleep walking or night terrors? Do your grandkids wake up screaming and yet they are not awake and you can’t get them to wake up? Ever wonder how early or at what age a deviated nasal septum starts to develop? (very important) What about severely worn down baby teeth (real short or flat)? Are your teeth really crooked and worn down? Do you have acid reflux problems and your teeth just seem to be melting away with pot holes all over them and a lot of sensitivity to cold? Do you or your kids or grandkids have frequent headaches in the night or in the morning? Does the back of your head ache besides being tender? Do you ache around your jaw joint? Are you waking up unable to open your mouth wide because your jaw seems stuck?
Ok, enough questions. Answers to almost all of these questions revolve around our airway, both oral and nasal. In short, a dentist trained in Craniofacial growth and development, pathology, and dental sleep medicine, can give you answers and solutions to all of the symptoms listed above. TMJ and sleep problems are intertwined to a high degree. Pediatric sleep apnea is often a result of overly enlarged tonsils or too narrow a palate and nasal structures. Tonsillectomy and rapid palatal expansion will cure 95% of you grandkids night time and daytime problems. The AAOP (American Academy of Oral facial Pain), or the AACP (American Academy of Craniofacial Pain), or the AADSM (American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine) are a few organizations of dentists who take great interest in these kinds of problems. They list members by State and City.