I have an 8-year-old who is still wetting the bed. A friend of mine mentioned her son did that and then they discovered he had sleep apnea. Once they treated that, he stopped wetting the bed. Is that a coincidence? If not, how do you know if your child has sleep apnea?

Maddie

Dear Maddie,

First, let’s start with what sleep apnea is. In some people, when they lay back or sleep the muscles in the back of their throats relax and partially block their airway. One of the signs of this is snoring.

One of the consequences of sleep apnea is your body wakes up multiples times in the night without you even realizing this. As a result, people with sleep apnea are often more sleepy during the day because they are not getting a full night’s sleep even though they think they did.

Sleep Apnea and Bed Wetting

Have you ever noticed that if you wake up during the night, suddenly you have to go to the bathroom? Why is it that we don’t go in our sleep? Somehow, our bodies know that we are asleep and therefore does not relax the muscles your bladder uses. However, if you have sleep apnea, your body is waking up in the middle of the night without you realizing it. In some cases, that will release the patient’s bladder.

You can ask your pediatric dentist or even a general dentist who treats children to order a sleep study for your son. If he does end up having sleep apnea, then there is an orthotic device, that is custom fit to his bite, which will keep that airway open and allow him to stay asleep.

This blog is brought to you by Hilton Head Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.