What is Airway Orthodontics?

Airway orthodontics specialists are trained to diagnose and treat breathing disorders associated with certain orthodontic abnormalities. Orthodontic treatment is about more than aesthetics; proper alignment of the teeth and facial structure is essential for free breathing and overall physical health.
A growing mountain of scientific evidence says that there are no genes for crooked teeth. Our bodies are reacting to stressors caused by our modern diets, our lifestyles, and from our “industrial” environment. These adaptive responses have a genetic component to them, which is why families still share similar appearances. Crooked teeth and misaligned jaws are signs of significant issues that our brain and bodies are attempting to cope with. If we evaluate and address the negative changes in the way our faces (and ourselves as a whole) are developing, we can restore balance and eliminate deficiencies in the way our faces grow, the way our airways develop, and also allow teeth to align in the most ideal manner.

Benefits of Airway Orthodontics

Prevention
Helps to prevent deficient (or sometimes excess) facial growth, disturbed sleep and crooked teeth, if started early, by restoring airways, balancing facial structural growth, and restoring normal functional patterns. These issues affect the entire body and can even disturb normal cognitive development.
Health
We just don’t treat the symptoms, we look for the cause of your child’s problems and treat them effectively. Head postures are automatically altered in order to open inadequate airways, this changes entire body postures, in order to maintain balance. These can’t return to normal until airways are structurally improved. We do that non-surgically, using gentle orthodontic techniques.
Facial Growth
The shape of the face affects our appearance, our teeth, and our breathing passages, day and night. We influence and change facial growth from the beginning, so children receive health and aesthetic benefits for life. These changes can also be made in adults using special imaging and cutting edge techniques.
Integrative
Using varied “in house” and referred healthcare providers, especially Speech and Language Practioners ( whose expertise is diagnosing and treating oral motor disorders)  we address multiple aspects of good health. These include tongue posture (tongue tie), breathing, eating, body posture, airways, and sleep. We create beautiful smiles AND more balanced attractive faces.

Symptoms We Treat • Crooked teeth • Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Mouth Breathing • Forward Head Posture • Pseudo or misdiagnosed ADHD
Orthodontic Relapse cases • Abnormal facial growth/development • Tongue Ties
“I just don’t like my smile” • TMJ issues not resolved with appliances
Consequences of NOT Treating • ADHD like symptoms • Increasing tooth crowding
Scoliosis • Chronic Pain issues • Anxiety or Depression
Abnormal facial growth and deformity • Periodontal disease
Loss of ability to chew correctly • Increased pain of face, jaw or neck
Poor nasal breathing • Asthma

Children
Orthodontics with a focus on correcting impaired breathing is a necessary part of the cure for children who snore or have apnea and can prevent these issues in children (we see and treat children as young as 3 years old) who are at risk for developing these problems. Studies demonstrate that 70% of children who snore have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Children with OSA are frequently misdiagnosed as having ADHD and are unnecessarily placed on medication, when in fact their problems are being caused by disturbed and inadequate sleep.
Dr. Baurmash can evaluate the need to intercept the abnormal growth patterns that are developing from disturbed breathing patterns, including mouth breathing. Due to the continuous growth in children, it is easier to correct deficient skeletal development to guide them to grow in the most favorable manner. Our treatment provides the best opportunity for ideal balance, posture, and internal wellness.

Adults
Adults may feel that their orthodontic options are very limited, due to the fact that their face is no longer growing. Adults may also feel that some corrections they’d like to have accomplished are no longer possible. Perhaps you previously had orthodontic treatment but have some relapse, or actually weren’t happy with the outcome of treatment. Dr. Baurmash has refined and developed techniques, using Maxillary Sutural Expansion, that can expand the upper jaw which can improve skeletal and airway deficiencies, even in patients who are no longer growing. This allows for improving facial esthetics, along with a dazzling smile in adults too! Clear/tooth colored braces can also be an option in these cases.