Does sleep apnea come then go?

[adrianna22]

My DS, who is four. Used to have sleep anea and was then referred to the ears, nose and throat clinic.

It has been about a month and he has no more sleep apnea. He does tend to keep his mouth open while sleeping. Does this mean my DS's troubles are over?

Should I cancel the ENT referral?

DS1 had bouts of sleep apnoea that came and went over the years.

I only pieced it together when he was 6yo. I had never taken him to the doctor about it, although looking back, he was exhausted and often complained of sore joints and pins and needles which can be caused by lack of oxygen. I don't think it was bad enough for a diagnosis because I think they use criteria of x number of episodes per hour and oxygen levels below x%

However, it stopped around the time that his mouth grew very rapidly to accommodate his adult teeth, around 7yo I think. Suddenly, there was a gap between his first and second incisors.

He has a very high, narrow palate (caused by his tongue tie - pics on my profile) which was likely the cause of it and the rapid growth probably was enough to open up his post nasal apertures enough to stop the apnoea.

Brian Palmer did a lot of work in this area. Be warned that some of it is very graphic.

DS1 was also a mouth breather because his nostrils were restricted by the high palate. This stopped not long after he got early orthodontic treatment (braces and night time headgear) to widen his palate and draw out the mid section of his face, opening up his nostrils.

I would keep the ENT appointment. Has your DS got anything else going on healthwise?