Airway and Aligners

Top Cape Town Aesthetic Dental Surgeon

Dr. Sheryl Smithies offers innovative airway and aligners treatments in Cape Town.

AIRWAY AND ALIGNERS

Why is Airway such an important Phenomenon to Treat?

Our breath is basically our life. If we are not breathing efficiently, we will ultimately be affected in every part of the body at a cellular level. This can lead to some serious life-threatening illnesses such as high blood pressure.

How does this happen?

Our lifestyles and habits as we grow are causing our jaw growth to become too narrow. The upper jaw stays narrow and the palate pushes up into the nasal cavity. This decreases the space through the nose that air can travel down to the lungs.

Because the lower jaw is usually tucked under the upper jaw, if the upper jaw is narrowed, then the lower jaw gets “stuck” back and is prevented from growing to its natural size and position. This means that your tongue gets forced back into your throat. For most people this may only be a small amount but when you lie down this does impair the air flowing into your lungs. This would be a subclinical condition that doesn’t specifically present itself with symptoms but if you look into your habits, you will be able to identify that you are not breathing efficiently. Do you grind your teeth? Do you sleep with your neck stretched out? Does your tongue have indentations of your teeth in it? And now with the wearables, what is your nocturnal SPO2 – is it lowered a touch?

For some people this can be so bad that you will start to snore or even have obstructive sleep apnoea. This has severe health consequences like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, metabolic syndrome, erectile dysfunction, neurological degenerative diseases, etc.

Improved Cellular Health
Better Jaw Alignment
Enhanced Nasal Airflow
Higher Sleep Quality
Lower Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
Increased Energy Levels
Improved Neurological Health
Enhanced Metabolic Function
Improved Immune Function

How can Dental Aligners help your breathing?

If part of the cause of your breathing disorders is dentally related (and pretty much most are) then alignment and widening of your dental arches can make a big difference to your nasal passages as well as to your tongue position in your jaws.

How is this done?

A full examination is done with digital records that include a 3D X-ray of your jaws and head, photos and a 3D intra-oral scan. With these, a full digital picture of you is created. Precise measurements are taken and with the help of digital planning, we can decide to what extent your jaws need to be widened and aligned. We can even measure exactly the size of your airway on the 3D x-ray.

The Treatment Plan

This is a very individualised treatment process.

If you only need a little amount of widening and alignment, this can easily be done with aligners. The number of aligners, again depends on how much movement is necessary.

However, if your case is deemed to need more widening than one can achieve solely with aligners, we would then potentially include a combination of small surgical procedures to help us move the teeth into a wider position safely. These surgical treatments are very advanced and give phenomenal results. I know that the thought of surgery is always scary, but the results speak for themselves, and our patients are amazed at how the benefits of being able to breathe better are tangible.

non-surgical widening