So, how did you feel when you woke up this morning? Ready to take on the world with energy and enthusiasm or dragging yourself out of bed begrudgingly and grumpy? How about mid-afternoon? Hard to concentrate through the mental fog? The last thing on your mind would be to exercise, just want to rest. Fatigue is a reality for far too many children and adults and it is taking a toll on future health as critical neurological sensors are being destroyed causing permanent impairment so says Dr. Christian Guilleminault, Stanford University’s eminent sleep scholar and researcher. All the best science in human health is focused on the importance of quality and quantity of sleep as the most important predictor of longevity and wellbeing with overwhelming evidence of reduction of chronic diseases that plague Americans and monetarily overwhelm our Medical System. We are headed for Medical bankruptcy if we cannot change this “climate”.
To say it’s all a breathing problem sounds so oversimplified and implausible when we breathe so automatically, but it is the basic truth between robust health and sickness. Orthodontic evaluations are an essential pathway to resolving our biggest most important health problem. The characteristics of the face and teeth reveal much information that is the concern of orthodontists and if corrective measures are not taken early, ages 3 – 7. irreversible anatomical deviations will have developed. There must be an integrated, collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to treatment, but facial development is at the core of the problem. By age four, 60% of the adult face has been built and by age eleven, 90% of the adult face is built. Puberty brings on other obstructing factors that interfere with adequate ventilation.
Breathing issues are not being addressed properly in the medical community worldwide and there are staggering numbers of undiagnosed/untreated sleep problems. Sleep is a breathing issue and health is a breathing issue and if anybody snores, chokes. wheezes, coughs, gasps, breathes through the mouth, wakes up multiple times, sighs often, sleeps less than 7 1/2 hours or more than 8, needs multiple trips to the bathroom at night, grinds or clenches their teeth or has acid reflux – you’ve got trouble brewing. Why take years off your life and feel lousy living the years left? The way you breathe is the “canary in the mine”.
There are sophisticated technologies utilized to aid the diagnosis of sleep breathing disorders, sleep apnea being only one of some 80 disturbances, but nothing is a truer test than how you feel and perform during the day. Your child’s facial and jaw development should be a concern for their future health and wellbeing. We provide the education, evaluation, connections with other knowledgeable partners and specific orthodontic treatment targeted to airway development. Yes, we love the beautiful smiles our orthodontic treatment achieves but we are totally invested in the beautiful health that quality sleep and lifestyle management insure.
Learn a better way to live,
call (727) 822-3156 for a complimentary visit.
Make sleep a priority!
John B. Harrison DDS, MSc
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