How Is Sleep Apnea Treated in Children?

If your child has sleep apnea or if you suspect it, then you’ll want to know a few things about it. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that happens when a child’s breathing is repeatedly blocked either partially or entirely. It’s rare for a child to have sleep apnea, but when it does occur it can be quite serious, especially if it’s left untreated. The condition can lead to behavioral, adaptive, and learning difficulties, as well as other symptoms similar to those of ADHD, and the condition can even lead to hypertension and cardiac problems. A recent study indicated that the occurrence of behavioral problems in children were 4 to 5 times greater in those with incident sleep apnea and even greater in children with persistent sleep apnea.

When you consider all that, it’s easy to understand how significantly sleep apnea can affect a child. It’s also easy to make the decision to have your child treated professionally. We can provide this service here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders.

Treatment depends on your child’s particular case of sleep apnea. For extreme cases, a relatively simple surgery may be necessary, but there are many other options that work in most cases. Sometimes lifestyle programs can help children. Often, CPAP therapy with a CPAP machine is recommended for children, but many patients, especially children, may find the machine cumbersome and uncomfortable to use. Also, sometimes the therapy just doesn’t work effectively for a patient. In many patient cases, oral appliance therapy is the better option.

This kind of therapy is often a better option over CPAP therapy, especially for children. This is because oral appliance therapy uses a simple mouth insert that’s much more comfortable for children to use than a machine with a mask. The insert is used at night and works by helping a child’s jaw, tongue, and throat rest in their natural positions. This effectively prevents many of the conditions that cause sleep apnea in the first place, like the throat muscles relaxing too much and blocking the airway. In fact, oral appliance therapy is proven to work in many cases and is approved by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. We’re happy to be able to provide oral appliance therapy for your child here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders!

We’re also happy to be able to provide you and your child with all the knowledge you’ll need so your child can sleep as effectively as possible. To learn what we know, including everything we know about sleep apnea treatments, get in touch with us today. You can call us or visit our Locations page to find the location nearest you. We’d be happy to see you and your child for a consultation at any of our locations in Bloomington IL, Peoria/Dunlap IL, Mishawaka IN, Kansas City MO, El Paso TX and Wausau WI. We’d be happy to speak with you about anything, so don’t hesitate to call us if you need us at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders!