I went for an initial consultation to consider a DNA appliance. Im primarily concerned about helping nasal breathing, ive been mouth breathing with bad allergies since I was a kid. I got photos taken and an X-ray done, as well as a sleep test. Ive attached some of those photos (I had uploaded online but they were being blocked for some reason):
The practitioner recommended either an AGGA or DNA, seems like she was recommending the AGGA, based on the diagnosis I disagree, and also based on what I've read here. This is the summary of the diagnosis:
Mallampati Grade 3
Mild Tongue Tie
Mild Buccal Tie
constricted maxilla/mandible in width
AP - good forward development (this is under palette, not sure what AP is, doc mentioned I had food forward devlopment on upper palette)
width underdeveloped
mild crowding in lower arch
very deep bite (I think thats an overbite?)
Lateral Torsion of skull
signs of grinding on right side of jaw
steep mandibular angle, due to longterm breathing disorder
Hypertrophic inferior turbinates
Mildly constricted airway retro-lingual (she said airway was actually pretty good)
Sleep test said AHI is 4.5, no sign of sleep apnea. Lowest SaO2 is 90%. Breathing problem seems to be primarily from enlarged turbinates.
Recommended Myofunctional therapy, tongue tie/buccal tie, enlargement of nasal canal by reducing turbinates and creating space with one of the two devices.
Do you all agree with the findings? Should I get the device? Thank You
Your situation sounds very similar to mine. I’m doing a sleep study next week to determine if I have sleep disordered breathing since I wake up very frequently every night and never get a refreshing sleep, but I’m not entirely sure if it’s not due to anxiety/insomnia yet.
But I think I am leaning towards the DNA appliance over AGGA since it seems to be better for widening the palate and helping with sleep disordered breathing. AGGA seems to be more about forward growth and requires braces after. But I am still a bit apprehensive about the efficacy of DNA since there isn’t a ton of good proof other than lots of anecdotal evidence. AGGA does seem to create some definite movement, but possibly more unpredictable and more likely to maybe create unwanted effects.
But it sounds like you have decent forward growth and your airway is okay so maybe you don’t need any of these devices. DNA would probably help with your nasal breathing but it’s expensive and not guaranteed to work so maybe depends on how desperate you are.
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