Month: April 2010

I wanted to share some interesting information from a study that was published in one of my dental journals recently. It discussed upper airway obstruction, or mouth breathing and the affects it can have on patients, especially children.

Children whose mouth breathing goes untreated over time may suffer from abnormal facial and dental development, such as long narrow faces and mouths, gummy smiles, gingivitis, crooked teeth and many other unattractive facial features. Due to their obstructed airways these children do not sleep well at night which can adversely affect their growth and academic performance. This can often lead to a misdiagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and hyperactivity.

Last night, as part of my ongoing education in sleep medicine, I spent the night at a sleep lab. The staff at St. Mary Mercy Hospital Livonia Sleep Center was very kind in allowing me to observe their wonderful patient care. It was a chance for me to see in action many of the things I have been learning about over the past few years. The patients were very nice in allowing me to ask questions and the technician, Eric was very knowledgeable and did a great job of explaining things to me and in answering my many questions.