What Is Airway Orthodontics?
Airway orthodontics is a specialized approach that focuses on how the jaws, teeth, and facial structure affect breathing and airway function. When the jaws do not develop properly, it can reduce space for the tongue and airway, which may impact sleep and overall health. At Premier Orthodontics & Dental Specialists, Dr. Corina Radu evaluates how jaw development, bite alignment, and facial structure impact breathing, sleep, and overall health. Rather than only aligning teeth, airway orthodontics addresses the root cause of crowding and jaw imbalance by creating proper space for the tongue and airway. This approach supports long-term stability, improved breathing, and better overall function. Instead of simply moving teeth within limited space, airway-focused treatment aims to create proper jaw development and support healthy breathing patterns. At Premier Orthodontics & Dental Specialists we go beyond traditional orthodontics with a specialized focus on airway orthodontics, a treatment approach that enhances breathing by guiding proper jaw and facial development.
Could Airway Issues be affecting you? Do you have any of these Symptoms?
CHILDREN: Your child may benefit from airway evaluation if: they snore, breath through their mouth, have difficulty paying attention, are hyperactice or diagnosed with ADHD, grind their teeth at night, wet the bed beyond the typical age, sleep in unusual positions, experience frequent ear or sinus infections, have dark circles under their eyes, show delayed growth or development have crowded teeth or a narrow palate and so on…
Do you snore, wake up tires, breath through your mouth, or have neen told you stop breathing during sleep?
An airway -focused orthdontic evaluation may help identify underlying structural issues affecting your breathing ad sleep quality.
SCHEDULE YOUR AIRWAY ORTHODONTIC CONSULTATION:
call 630-279-5345, or text us at 630-936-4429
What Are The Benefits Of Airway Orthodontics?
Airway orthodontics can provide both functional and long-term health benefits, including:
- Expand and stabilize the airway
- Reduced risk of crowding and extractions
- Improved nasal breathing and airflow
- promote better oxygen intake during sleep
- improve sleep quality and reduced airway restriction
- Proper jaw growth and facial development
- Long-term stability of orthodontic results
Airway Health:
Why Screening Matters
Who can Benefit from Airway -focused Orthodontics?
CHILDREN-kids with developing airway issues and narrow palates, mouth breathers, children with crwoding and crossbites, children diagnosed with sleep-disordered breathing/peridatric sleep apnea. We are you airway and sleep apnea orthodontist!
Our Comprehensive Airway Approach
We collaborate with primary care providers, ENT and sleep physicians, pediatric dentists, pediatricians and oral surgeons highly skilled in performing orthognathic surgery. We are trained to perform at the right time growth -guided orthodontic treatment, palatal expansion, MARPE/MSE/SARPE and MMA maxillomandibular advancement for severe ault cases, in conjunction with traditional braces, lingual hidden braces, clear aligners or a hybryd approach that is customised for individual
Early orthodontic evaluation allows us to guide jaw growth while a is still developing. Since children’s bones are more responsive to treatment, early intervention can help create space for proper breathing and reduce the need for more complex treatment later.
Signs that may indicate airway concerns in children include mouth breathing, snoring, crowded teeth, restless sleep, bed wetting ADHD concerns, inability to focus in school. Early treatment can help address these issues before they worsen. This non-invasive treatment benefits children addresing the root cause of airway restriction rather than just the symproms. Over time, it can significantly improve sleep quality and overall health.
This is a journey that we take together, we stand by you, and we are guiding and helping you every step of the way. It is not only about straight teeth but proper diagnosis and treatment planning, in the context of achieving facial balance and harmony, with proper breathing and function. Many of our patients are re-treatments or coming for 2nd and 3rd opinions. Be treated by an orthdontist! We aim to be your ONLY orthodontist!
What Are Expanders And How Do They Help?
Expanders are orthodontic appliances used to widen the upper jaw and create more space for teeth, the tongue, and the airway.
Rapid Palatal Expander (RPE) For Kids
RPE is commonly used in children while the jaw is still developing. It gently widens the upper jaw, helping improve bite alignment and airway space.
MARPE And MSE For Teens And Adults
For older patients whose bones have matured, advanced expanders are used:
- MARPE (Mini-Implant Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion) uses small implants to expand the jaw without traditional surgery
- MSE (Maxillary Skeletal Expander) is a more advanced system designed to create skeletal expansion in non-growing patients
What Is MARPE And When Is It Used?
MARPE is a non-surgical expansion technique designed for teens and adults who need jaw expansion. It uses mini-implants to apply controlled force directly to the bone, allowing for effective widening of the upper jaw.
When Is Jaw Surgery Needed For Airway Issues?
Maxillary and mandibular Advancement MMA to treat severe OSA
Jaw surgery can advance the upper jaw, lower jaw, or both to:
- Improve airway space Correct severe bite issues
- Enhance facial balance and function
Adult patients diagnosed with severe OSA, it they present with complex untreated skeletal discrepancies, may benefit from corrective double jaw surgery advancement with expansion called MMA. This is combined orthodontic-orthognathic treatment that starts with pre-surgical orthodontics to decompensate the position of the teeth, done with braces or clear aligners, followed by surgery and a couple of days in the hospital. A month after, the post-surgical orthdontic phase will commence to detail the fine position of the teeth once the jaws had been moved into their final corrected position. The result is enhanced facial balance and harmony, a correct bite with good airway, proper sleep and breathing.
Dr. Corina Radu, Board Certified Orthodontist, works closely with highly specialized oral surgeons, ENT surgeons and plastic surgeons to ensure precise, coordinated interdisciplinary complex adult treatment. This is right up her alley, her niche is adult complex treatment. She served in Germany as a contractor orthodontist in a large interdisciplary dental clinic treating mostly adult active duty patients with various forms of combined ortho-surgical treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Airway orthodontics focuses on how jaw development and alignment impact breathing and overall health. Here are some common questions to help you better understand this approach and what to expect.
How Do I Know If Airway Orthodontics Is Needed?
A comprehensive evaluation can identify signs such as mouth breathing, snoring, or jaw development issues that may impact airway health. We may refer you for additional evaluation and sleep studies and recommend tretament based on those results. Watching or listening to a person struggling to breath is painful, It is connected with so many other health issues, so get it fixed.
Can Airway Orthodontics Help With Sleep Issues?
Improving jaw position and airway space can support better breathing and may help reduce sleep-related concerns. Expansiononly will increase airway volume bu about 25%.
Is Airway Orthodontics Only For Children?
No. While early treatment is ideal, teens and adults can also benefit from airway-focused orthodontic care using advanced techniques.
Are Expanders Painful?
Patients may feel pressure at first, but most adjust quickly as the appliance begins working.
How Long Does Airway Treatment Take?
Treatment time varies depending on age and severity, but early intervention often leads to faster and more stable results. It can be as short as 9-12 months for a growing kid needing pahse I with expansion or sagittal appliances or 2-3 years if complex combined growth modification or surgical orthodontics involving jaw surgery due to OSA.