06/25/2026
This is my daughter Caroline. 4 months ago she was what we called a "messy" sleeper, meaning she was all over the bed when she slept and woke up grumpy. One lateral front tooth was not coming in as it did not have enough space. These are just some of the signs of inadequate room in the mouth for the tongue and teeth which can lead not only to orthodontic problems but sleep and behavior manifestations due to lack of oxygen at night. We expanded her upper jaw and uprighted her lower teeth that had been squeezed in and have been working to retrain her tongue on where to be through myofunctional therapy. Her lateral has come in and she is sleeping so much better. She isn't all over the bed at night and is able to get a restful nights sleep. Will she still need braces? Yes. However, with her airway open allowing her to get adequate oxygen during the day and night she will feel better and have less of a chance of long term effects of lack of oxygen (poor sleep, grumpy, bedwetting, snoring, and sleep apnea later in life).
