05/12/2026
Youโre washing sheets again this morning. Your child wonโt meet your eyes. The quiet shame of being the kid who still wets the bed, your child feels it. And you feel it, too. ๐
This is one of the most heartbreaking things I see as an airway-focused pediatric dentist: Parents are driving two and three hours to bring me their 9, 10, 11, 12-year-olds who are ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐. ๐
And most of them have never been told ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ.
These families have been waiting for their child to grow out of it while nobody ever looked at their airway. Meanwhile, these kids live in fear of their secret being discovered.
๐
Hereโs whatโs what might actually be happening. ๐
When a child is a ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ, their nervous system runs in a sympathetic state during sleep. ๐ฎโ๐จ Think about the feeling right before a big test. That tension, that urgency to p*e when weโre anxious or nervous. That is the sympathetic state, the state these kids are in ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ. ๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ. ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ .
๐Their body never fully relaxes or reaches the rest-and-digest parasympathetic state, so their bladder doesnโt either.
When I look in their mouth, the clues are already there:
๐ฎhigh palate
๐low tongue tone
๐ฅฑa child who has never once had a truly restful night of sleep.
This is ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐.
Itโs often a ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐. And it is something we can evaluate and treat.๐ฅณ
Save this. Send it to a family who is still waiting for their child to grow out of it. Sometimes the answer has been in the mouth the whole time. ๐
