AIRWAY DENTISTRY
Your health starts with how you breathe
Your health starts with how you breathe
Chronic fatigue. Snoring. Waking up exhausted. Teeth grinding, headaches, and an aching jaw. These may not be isolated problems and you definitely shouldn’t simply learn to live with them. These are often signs that your airway isn't functioning optimally, and that the underlying cause may be structural: an underdeveloped jaw, a narrow palate, or poor tongue posture that affects how you breathe, sleep, and recover every single day, and ultimately, your quality of life.
Airway dentistry addresses those root causes. At Dr. Lena Dentistry in Lower Manhattan, it sits at the center of the practice, because how you breathe shapes how you feel, how you sleep, and how fully you're able to enjoy your life.
Why your airway affects your whole health
Most people know that poor sleep is detrimental to their health. But, fewer realize that the quality of their breathing during the day and at night, is one of the most significant drivers of how they feel and function. When you breathe properly through your nose, your body produces nitric oxide, a molecule essential for cardiovascular health, immune function, and oxygen delivery. When that process is disrupted by a narrow airway, the effects show up throughout the body.
Patients who come to Dr. Lena with airway concerns often report a constellation of symptoms that have gone unaddressed for years, for example:
- Chronic fatigue and poor sleep
- Snoring or sleep apnea
- Teeth grinding or jaw tension
- Frequent headaches
- Mouth breathing
- Brain fog or difficulty concentrating
- Anxiety or mood changes
- Neck pain or forward head posture
- Crowded teeth or narrow palate
- In children: behavioral issues or difficulty in school
How Dr. Lena approaches Airway Dentistry Treatment
Airway problems are structural, so treatment has to be too. Dr. Lena uses advanced orthodontic techniques, primarily palatal expansion – MARPE/MASPE, to widen the upper jaw and open the nasal airway at the skeletal level. For patients who snore, a Laser Snoring Treatment may also be an option. In children, early intervention through Phase One Orthodontics can guide jaw development before the window for influence closes.
How does Airway Dentistry work?
Why your airway affects your whole health
Most people know that poor sleep is detrimental to their health. But, fewer realize that the quality of their breathing during the day and at night, is one of the most significant drivers of how they feel and function. When you breathe properly through your nose, your body produces nitric oxide, a molecule essential for cardiovascular health, immune function, and oxygen delivery. When that process is disrupted by a narrow airway, the effects show up throughout the body.
Patients who come to Dr. Lena with airway concerns often report a constellation of symptoms that have gone unaddressed for years, for example:
Before any treatment begins, Dr. Lena conducts a comprehensive evaluation including a 3D CBCT scan, a clinical airway screening, a digital scan of the teeth and bite, and a full set of facial photographs. This diagnostic process is the foundation of every treatment plan she creates. Without it, treatment is based on assumptions. With it, every decision is backed by a complete picture of your anatomy and your symptoms.
A team approach to your care
Airway problems rarely exist in isolation, and Dr. Lena doesn't treat them that way. Depending on your needs, she works in collaboration with ENT specialists to address nasal obstruction, myofunctional therapists to retrain tongue posture and swallowing patterns, and physical therapists to address postural imbalances that often accompany chronic airway dysfunction. Dr. Lena coordinates and sequences this care, so every provider is working toward the same goal and nothing falls through the cracks.
Why choose Dr. Lena?
Dr. Lena Sapozhnikoff has completed over 500 hours of advanced training in airway health and craniofacial development. She treats patients of all ages, from children whose jaws are still growing to adults who have spent years managing symptoms without ever addressing the cause. Her philosophy is straightforward: your teeth are just the beginning. When the airway is right, everything else follows.