Q. What are some dental treatments Q. Should my kids get eye exams Q. Can sleep-disordered breathing cause available to both children and adults?
before starting or returning to school?
A. Here at Litchfield Dental Care, we value
A. With the summer rapidly ending, it is A. Sleep-disordered breathing in children
prevention for early periodontal care as well as non-surgical care with our state-of-theart laser treatments. Many of us with children find that speech development is affected, such as lisping, with chronic clenching and grinding of their teeth. This usually results in premature wear and potential cavities. Those concerns along with crowding, overbites and poor alignment can be corrected most often without braces when diagnosed early. The next time you peek into your child’s mouth you may notice wear, crowding and lip biting as early as 3 years old. This is the optimum time to have your child evaluated for easy steps to prevent and correct what may be a long-term problem before it becomes worse. Do not wait until all the permanent teeth are present to correct misalignments and clenching issues because these children typically have more stable and long lasting corrections without relapse when treated early. We offer complimentary orthodontic evaluations to help you avoid costly braces with early intervention. State-of-the-art digital dentistry allows our office to evaluate and treat adults with crowding, premature wear, and gum recession with Clear Correct, Invisalign metal free aligners. We also provide complimentary implant consultation to help guide you through the implant process. Dr. Perna and I have over 20 years combined experience in implant placement as well as grafting to better retain implants for a lifetime solution to missing teeth and loose dentures. Our staff at Litchfield Dental Care is uniquely trained to provide you and your family with long lasting smiles. – Dr. Kim Litchfield Dental Care 623.738.3027
time to make those back-to-school preparations. The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends an eye exam before heading back to school for those who have never had one or those who have not had an eye exam in two years. Good vision is an integral part of the learning process and should be evaluated to allow a child their best chance of academic success. Approximately 86 percent of children start school never having an eye examination. There is a very strong correlation between vision and learning. A majority of learning comes through the eyes. It is important to note that good vision is not only that a child can see 20/20, but also that the eyes have good visual function. That means are the eyes working properly and are looking at the same place at the same time. Many children with “learning difficulties” have 20/20 vision in each eye, what they lack is the ability of the eyes to working well together. Parents and teachers should be aware of a few things, other than blurred vision that may indicate a visual problem. Some of the most common things are: ●
Headaches during or after homework
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Needing a finger to maintain their place when reading
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Easily loses place when reading
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Squinting
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Rubbing eyes to help keep focus
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Avoids near tasks, such as reading and computer work
inability to concentrate in children?
can result from swollen tonsils and/or adenoids, malocclusion (misalignment of the teeth) or swollen nasal passages. Children who suffer from sleep-disordered breathing do not sleep well at night. Often, they cannot enter REM sleep because they are unable to get into a deep sleep without their body forcing them awake when their airway becomes obstructed.
As the body drifts to sleep, the airway relaxes. A healthy airway should not relax, but if the child has swollen tonsils or nasal problems, this relaxation can obstruct the airway and breathing causing the brain to wake up the body, resulting in excessive tiredness and decreased concentration. Sleep-disordered breathing in children may manifest as strange positions while sleeping (such as hanging their head off the edge of the bed or propping it up on pillows in order to be in the right position to breathe), overall crabbiness, headaches, difficulty waking and/or bedwetting. It may also manifest itself as trouble concentrating—sometimesserious conditions like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, not every child who has trouble concentrating is automatically suffering from ADHD. Trouble concentrating can be caused by everything from immaturity to a short attention span. Nevertheless, diagnoses of ADHD have risen exponentially in the last few years, as has the prescription of such drugs as Ritalin.
If your child experiences any of these have Sleep-disordered breathing is just another them evaluated by your optometrist or possibility to look at when trying to find the ophthalmologist. underlying cause of your child’s inability to concentrate. –Dr. Baird –Dr. Croft The Village Eyecare Vistancia Orthodontics 623.566.0800 623.931.2943 azhealthandliving.com | July 2014
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