Pediatric Airway & Growth-Focused Care
Healthy breathing, restful sleep, and proper oral function all play an important role in how a child grows and develops. Dr. Kelsey Geiger takes a proactive, whole-child approach to evaluating the relationship between your child’s breathing, sleep, oral function, jaw growth, and developing teeth.
Our goal is to recognize concerns early—while your child is still growing—so we can support healthy development and collaborate with other healthcare providers when needed.
Why Airway & Growth Matter
The way a child breathes and uses the muscles of the mouth and face can influence oral and facial development. Likewise, the size and shape of the developing jaws can affect the space available for the tongue and permanent teeth.
Sometimes the first clues that something isn’t developing ideally show up in the mouth—which puts dentists in a unique position to recognize these patterns early.
Our focus goes beyond straight teeth. We look at the structure, function, and development of the whole child.
What Should Parents Look For?
- Mouth breathing or open-mouth posture
- Snoring, noisy breathing, or restless sleep
- Teeth grinding
- Chronic nasal congestion
- Bedwetting beyond an expected age
- Difficulty with focus or behavior
- Thumb sucking or other persistent oral habits
- Crowded teeth or inadequate space for permanent teeth
- Narrow or high palate
- Crossbite, underbite, or other developing bite concerns
- Low or improper tongue posture
If you’re noticing several of these signs, a growth and airway evaluation can help us take a closer look.
A Thorough Growth & Airway Evaluation
Every child begins with a comprehensive in-office growth and development evaluation. Dr. Kelsey uses advanced technology, including digital scanning and, when indicated, 3D CBCT imaging, along with photographs and a detailed clinical and functional assessment.
We evaluate areas such as:
Airway & Breathing
Breathing patterns, nasal airway, and relevant anatomical findings, including the tonsils and adenoids when visible on imaging, as well as signs that may warrant further sleep or medical evaluation.
Growth & Structure
Facial and jaw growth, arch development, palate shape, bite relationships, and space for developing permanent teeth.
Function
Tongue posture and mobility, oral rest posture, swallowing patterns, oral habits, and other functional factors that may influence development.
This comprehensive view helps us understand not just what we’re seeing, but why it may be developing—so recommendations can be individualized to your child.
Early Treatment Options
Treatment isn’t one-size-fits-all. Depending on your child’s age, growth, anatomy, dental development, and functional needs, Dr. Kelsey may recommend monitoring, treatment in our office, collaboration with another healthcare provider—or a combination of these approaches.
Palatal Expansion
Gently widens a narrow upper jaw to create space for developing teeth while supporting proper tongue posture, nasal breathing, and healthy oral and facial development.
Invisalign First
Removable clear aligners help create space and guide developing teeth as part of early interceptive orthodontic treatment—all while being comfortable and easy to keep clean.
Guidance Appliances
Appliances such as Myobrace may be used in younger children to encourage nasal breathing, proper tongue position, healthy oral rest posture, and favorable early growth and development.
Structure + Function + Collaboration
Healthy development involves more than the teeth and jaws.
When appropriate, we work alongside pediatricians, ENTs, sleep providers, myofunctional therapists, speech-language pathologists, and other healthcare professionals to address factors outside the dental office.
Our goal isn’t to replace these providers—it’s to recognize when your child’s dental development may be part of a bigger picture and help connect the pieces.
Early Evaluation. Thoughtful Intervention.
Not every child needs treatment right away.
Sometimes the best approach is simply to identify a concern, monitor growth, and intervene at the right time. When treatment is recommended, we aim to work with your child’s natural growth rather than waiting until development is complete.
Early recognition may give us an opportunity to address crowding, narrow arches, bite concerns, oral habits, and functional patterns while your child is still growing.
Meet Dr. Kelsey
Dr. Kelsey Geiger’s interest in airway health began close to home. Concerns with her own children’s sleep and breathing sparked her interest in the connection between airway health, oral function, and facial and jaw development.
She has since pursued advanced education in pediatric airway and sleep health, early interceptive orthodontics, and adult sleep-disordered breathing. Her approach looks beyond the teeth to understand how breathing, sleep, growth, and oral function work together.
Is an Airway & Growth Evaluation Right for Your Child?
If you have concerns about your child’s breathing, sleep, oral habits, dental crowding, jaw development, or bite, a comprehensive evaluation can help us better understand what may be contributing and whether monitoring, treatment, or collaboration with another provider is appropriate.
Please complete the following forms for treatment of airway care for your child.