Airway Orthodontics: More Than a Smile — It’s About Your Health
For decades, traditional orthodontics followed a “crowding solution” that often meant removing teeth to make space. While this approach lined teeth up straighter, it sometimes came at a cost: a smaller dental arch, reduced tongue space, and even a narrower airway.
Today, a new approach — airway orthodontics — is changing that. By focusing on the airway, facial growth, and tongue posture, this method doesn’t just make smiles look beautiful. It helps people breathe better, sleep better, and live healthier.
Old School Orthodontics: Straight Teeth, Narrow Airway
Traditional orthodontics had one main goal: get the teeth straight, even if that meant pulling teeth to reduce crowding.
The problem? Removing teeth and pulling arches back can:
Reduce the size of the dental arch
Limit space for the tongue to rest against the palate
Contribute to mouth breathing habits
Narrow the airway, increasing risks of snoring and sleep apnea
Create long-term tension in the jaw and face
While it achieved cosmetic alignment, this approach often ignored how teeth, jaws, and airway health are connected.
Airway Orthodontics: Space to Breathe, Space to Thrive
Airway orthodontics takes the opposite approach. Instead of removing teeth, it works to expand the arches and create enough room for the tongue to rest naturally in the roof of the mouth.
This approach:
✅ Encourages nasal breathing
✅ Opens the airway and reduces snoring/sleep apnea risks
✅ Supports normal facial growth and jaw development
✅ Provides stable orthodontic results without relapse
✅ Improves long-term oral rest posture and function
By thinking beyond straight teeth, airway orthodontics supports the whole person’s health.
The Role of Myofunctional Therapy
Even with the best orthodontics, lasting results depend on how the muscles of the tongue, lips, and cheeks function.
Myofunctional therapy works alongside airway orthodontics to:
Train proper oral rest posture (tongue to the roof of the mouth)
Eliminate habits like mouth breathing or tongue thrust
Support stable, long-term orthodontic outcomes
Improve sleep and jaw comfort
When orthodontics and myofunctional therapy work together, patients get healthier smiles that last a lifetime.
Airway Orthodontics in San Antonio & Marble Falls
If you’re curious about airway orthodontics for yourself or your child, I recommend working with doctors who understand this holistic approach.
Dr. Atique (San Antonio, TX)
Both are committed to orthodontic care that prioritizes breathing, function, and overall health — not just straight teeth.
Could Airway Orthodontics Be Right for You?
If you or your child struggles with:
Mouth breathing
Snoring or poor sleep
Crowded teeth or narrow arches
Jaw tension or headaches
…it may be time to consider an airway-centered approach.
📅 Schedule a free 15-minute consultation with me today to learn how myofunctional therapy works hand-in-hand with airway orthodontics to create lasting results.