Adult Airway Problems
Adult Airway Issues: The Hidden Link to Health Challenges
Many adults live for years with undiagnosed airway problems, attributing symptoms like poor sleep, fatigue, headaches, and jaw tension to stress and aging—when in fact, the root cause may be an underdeveloped airway.
At Braces520, we take a comprehensive approach to adult orthodontics that includes evaluating the airway, tongue posture, and jaw alignment when airway issues are suspected. Narrow arches, deep bites, and retrusive jaws can all contribute to restricted airflow, especially during sleep. These structural issues often go unnoticed in traditional orthodontic exams but can lead to sleep-disordered breathing, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), TMJ problems, mouth breathing, and even chronic fatigue.
While airway-focused orthodontic treatment on adults is far more difficult and complicated than in growing children, orthodontics can still play a role in an adult’s journey towards better breathing and sleep. At Braces520, we are the only office in the Tucson Area and Southern Arizona routinely using Maxillary Skeletal Expansion (MSE) appliances to skeletally expand adult patients.
We offer many airway-conscious treatment plans tailored to adults—which can include expansion, bite correction, orthognathic surgery, referrals for myofunctional therapy or ENT consultation—to not only improve the appearance of your smile but to optimize how you breathe, sleep, and feel.
We also do many airway-focused Orthognathic Surgery cases, where you can rest assured we have the expertise and passion in these cases to work with your surgeon to ensure you get the most optimal result possible. If your case is too severe to improve with other methods, rest assured we will make your surgery experience as smooth as possible.
It’s never too late to breathe better.
