Pediatric Airway Treatment

Airway disorders affect children and adults. Unfortunately, they are often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Dr. Keith Gressell will perform a thorough physical examination and review your medical history to identify what’s causing the problem. He has extensive knowledge, training, and experience in identifying and helping children at risk of airway disorders.

What Are the Consequences of Undiagnosed Airway Disorders?

When airway disorders aren’t detected and diagnosed early, they can lead to health and economic consequences. At Harbor Hill Dentistry & Airway Center, we offer complimentary screening to correct growth and development problems before they become serious health issues like sleep-disordered breathing, obstructive sleep apnea, metabolic syndrome, and ADD/ADHD.

How Are Airway Disorders Treated?

Functional Orthodontics and Orthotropics

Traditional orthodontics differs from functional orthodontics. The former treats the problem directly instead of what’s causing it. An example is a case of crowded teeth. The conventional solution for crowded teeth is extracting some of your teeth and repositioning the remaining teeth to fit your mouth.

In functional orthodontics, a device is used to widen your jaw to accommodate all your teeth. Functional orthodontics and orthotropic share the same goal – both approaches deal with the cause instead of fixing the symptom. Dr. Gressell uses the following to treat crooked teeth:

• HealthyStart®
• Myobrace®

Myofunctional Therapy

Myofunctional therapy is an exercise-based therapy that involves different exercises that target the muscles responsible for breathing, speaking, swallowing, and chewing. The exercises are essential in building muscle memory for the treatments to be effective and to clear your child’s airway allowing proper breathing.

Dr. Keith Gressell Can Help With Pediatric Airway Treatment in Gig Harbor

If you’re concerned about your child’s development, you must seek help from a qualified professional. At Harbor Hill Dentistry and Airway Center, we offer various options to treat airway disorders. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you want to learn more about functional orthodontics and myofunctional therapy.