Unlocking Airway Health from Infancy: Recognising the First Signs, Preventing Lifelong Consequences

Abstract:

Snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) often begin in early childhood—but early signs like mouth breathing, poor tongue posture, and feeding difficulties are commonly overlooked. Instead, children are treated later for symptoms like ADHD-like behaviours, poor sleep, and chronic inflammatory diseases—while the root cause goes unaddressed.

Unlocking airway health from infancy means recognising oral dysfunction earlier, including orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs), as the earliest warning signs of problems ahead. Tongue-tie often contributes to these patterns and is frequently dismissed.

Airway health is the cornerstone of thriving health and vitality.
Earlier identification, intervention, collaboration, and integration of airway-focused care can shift health trajectories for life—helping children breathe, sleep, and thrive, and laying the foundation for healthier adults and longer healthspans.

Dr. Shereen Lim is a Perth-based dentist with a postgraduate diploma in Dental Sleep Medicine from the University of Western Australia.