Why Palate Expansion Matters for Your Airway - At Any Age

At Midwest Myofunctional Specialists, we spend a lot of time talking about breathing—because how you breathe impacts everything: sleep quality, focus, energy, facial growth, oral health, and overall wellness. One treatment that often plays a key role in improving breathing is palate expansion.

Many people are surprised to learn that palate expansion isn’t just about creating room for teeth—it’s about creating room to breathe.

The Palate & The Airway: What's the Connection?

The roof of the mouth (the palate) is also the floor of the nasal cavity. When the palate is narrow or high-arched, the nasal passages above it are often smaller as well. This can contribute to:

• Mouth breathing

• Chronic congestion

• Snoring

• Poor sleep quality

• Airway restriction and sleep-disordered breathing

By expanding the palate, we can increase the width of the nasal cavity, allowing for better nasal airflow. Better airflow supports nasal breathing, improved oxygen intake, and healthier sleep patterns.

Why Palate Expansion is Important for Children

In children, the bones of the face are still developing, which makes expansion more straightforward and highly effective. Early expansion can:

• Support proper airway development

• Encourage nasal breathing

• Reduce compensations like mouth breathing or tongue thrust

• Help guide healthy facial growth

Addressing a narrow palate early is often a preventative step—supporting long-term airway health rather than waiting for bigger problems to appear later.

Yes - Adults Can Get Palate Expansion Too

A common myth is that palate expansion only works for kids. While adult expansion looks different than pediatric expansion, adults can benefit too.

Adult expansion may be recommended to help with:

• Chronic mouth breathing

• Snoring or sleep apnea concerns

• Narrow arches or dental crowding

• Tongue space limitations

• Airway compromise

Expansion in adults can be life-changing, especially when improved breathing and sleep are the goals.

Where Myofunctional Therapy Fits In

Palate expansion is not just a dental process -- it's a functional one. Myofunctional therapy helps:

• Train the tongue to rest in the correct position

• Support nasal breathing before, during, and after expansion

• Improve muscle balance of the face and mouth

• Promote long-term stability of expansion results

When expansion and myofunctional therapy work together, we're not just changing structure, we're changing function.

At Midwest Myofunctional Specialists, our goal is always to look beyond symptoms and address the root cause. Palate expansion isn’t about aesthetics alone—it’s about creating space for the airway, supporting healthy breathing, and improving quality of life at any age.

If you’ve been told you or your child have a narrow palate, mouth breathing habits, or airway concerns, we’d love to help you explore whether palate expansion and myofunctional therapy may be the right next step.