Adult & Pediatric
Airway Development
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Proper breathing is essential to your health, development, and overall success. Early detection and correction of airway problems can be integral to optimizing this fundamental and critical physiology. Airway evaluation is a vital part of the process.
What is Adult & Pediatric Airway Development?
Adult & Pediatric Airway Development has three important functions: respiration, swallowing, and speech. During development it undergoes significant structural and functional changes that affect its size, shape, and mechanical properties. Abnormalities of the airway require prompt attention, because these often alter ventilatory, skeletal developmental patterns and gas exchange, particularly during sleep when upper airway motor tone and ventilatory drive are diminished.
Symptoms
- LLoud and chronic snoring almost every night
- LChoking or gasping during sleep
- LPauses in breathing
- LWaking up at night feeling short of breath
- LDaytime sleepiness and fatigue, no matter how much time you spend in bed
Types of Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Most common type of sleep apnea. It occurs when the soft tissue / jaw / tongue restricts or blocks the airway in the back of the throat.
Central Sleep Apnea
Less common type of sleep apnea that involves the central nervous system, occurring when the brain fails to signal the muscles that control breathing. People with central sleep apnea seldom snore.
Complex Sleep Apnea
A combination of obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.


Treatments
In the mid 1990’s it was discovered that only 10% of people diagnosed with breathing disorders were being treated. CPAP, the gold standard for OSA, only had showed 40% compliance amongst its users. The AAMS since has included the use of oral appliances in treating OSA. Concurrently, functional orthodontics as well as orthodontics has shown similar benefits in children with breathing disorders if diagnosed early enough.
Dr. Fraschetti has been screening children of all ages for early development airway issues for over thirty years. He has treated these disorders functionally with arch expansion and proper maxillary mandibular alignment.
There are over 100 types of medically defined sleep disorders. OSA increases the pathophysiology of many comorbidities such as, diabetes, stroke and cardiac issues, depression, fatigue just to name a few.
Please contact Dr. Fraschetti if you are experiencing symptoms of OSA.
Effects of Sleep Apnea on the body
Sleep apnea is a condition in which your breathing repeatedly pauses while you sleep. When this happens, your body wakes you up to resume breathing. These multiple sleep interruptions prevent you from sleeping well, leaving you feeling extra tired during the day.
Sleep apnea does more than make you sleepy, though. When left untreated, it can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, and other long-term health risks.
