Part 2: Aging, Airway, And Better Sleep: How Airway Focused Dentistry Supports Healthy Aging And Airway Function

Snoring, low energy, and restless sleep often get blamed on “just getting older,” but the story is usually more specific and more hopeful. We talk about how airway function changes with age and why the difference between competent function and compensated function matters for everything from sleep quality to daily stamina. If you’ve ever felt like your body is working harder to get the same results, this conversation makes that idea concrete with simple examples and clear next steps.

We also dig into the airway as an aerodigestive tube, one shared pathway that has to handle breathing and swallowing without mistakes. As we age, changes in neurology, muscle strength, and even anatomy can raise the risk of swallowing problems, choking, and aspiration that can contribute to chronic pneumonia and upper airway infections. We explain how the larynx tends to descend over time, why that can increase airway collapsibility, and how that collapse can show up as snoring and disturbed sleep.

From there we get practical. We share why activities like singing, choir, and wind instruments can act like “exercise” for airway muscles, and we outline the five core competences we want to maintain for lifelong airway health: nasal breathing most of the time, lips together at rest, tongue on the roof of the mouth, smooth non-collapsing sleep breathing, and diaphragmatic breathing. If you want better sleep, healthier breathing, and a smarter approach to aging, listen now, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find airway-focused dentistry.

To learn more about Dr. Mark A. Cruz, DDS. visit:
https://www.MarkACruzdds.com
Dr. Mark A. Cruz, DDS. 
32241 Crown Valley Pkwy #200  
Dana Point, CA 92629  
949-661-1006 

Transcript

Welcome And Why Airway Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to Airway Focused Dentistry with Dr. Mark A. Cruz, the show where better breathing leads to better living. If your nights sound like a lawnmower course or your energy's stuck on low battery, you're in the right place. Hosted by Dr. Mark A. Cruz, we explore how the airway impacts your sleep, your health, and your smile. So you can breathe, sleep, and be well. Take a deep breath, and let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

As we age, small changes in airway function can have big ripple effects on health, energy, and quality of life. Welcome everyone. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer with Dr. Mark A. Cruz. It's great to chat with you again, Doctor.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

Thank you, Julie. Thanks for the opportunity. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Yeah, we appreciate you. So this is part two of the topic from our last episode. And now we're going to look at how airway-focused dentistry supports aging patients from specifically a functional standpoint. Please take it away, Doctor.

Competent Versus Compensated Function

SPEAKER_02 1:05

Yeah, so you know, it's important to remember function, you know, throughout life and how that changes. And also to understand the difference between competent function and compensated function. So competent function, as an example, would be like your normal gait when you walk that's balanced and integrated in all your body movements, very efficient. Compated um movement would be, let's say you have a sprained ankle, right? You limp and you limp to get the job done, to get from A to B as is needed, but you're compensated and protecting the injured ankle at the expense of some of the other uh other muscles that are um taking some of the load, if you will. And it's okay for a short term, but it becomes a problem when it becomes more of the norm, because then you start having an imbalance in the muscles, and uh the joints start wearing differently, and that's what results in uh in problems, joint problems, hip problems, knee problems, ankle problems, etc. So that's just an example of the importance of having good, competent function versus compensated function.

The Airway As An Aerodigestive Tube

SPEAKER_02 2:27

As it pertains to the airway, we have to remember that when we say airway, we're talking about the facial skeleton and that is formed largely initially, as we've talked in other podcasts, by the development of the airway very early on, from how you're born, if you're able to latch, how you chew, how you swallow, eventually leading to being able to speak and phonate. And so there's a neurology that develops throughout that process that really defines our function, right? So it's the neurology, it's the coming from the cerebellum, largely from the cerebellum that gives us that muscle function. We have to remember in the airway, it has uh uh essentially a dual purpose. We call it an aerodigestive tube. That means that that tube has two functions. It carries air to the lungs, but also food from the mouth into the stomach. And um it's it's compartmentalized, if you will. So what affects one may affect the other in that aerodigestive function. So sometimes we see them as separate, but they're actually uh integrated. So we worry about choking. Um, and and so that's what the epiglottis uh is all about, is it it it's it it caps the uh airflow while we swallow so that the food gets guided into the gut versus into our lungs where we aspirate, right? So that's an example.

Aging And Swallowing Risk Factors

SPEAKER_02 4:03

As we age, there's a tendency for that function to diminish, right? So uh, you know, this is going back to why it's important to bend the curve curve as it pertains to aging by being active. We were designed to stress the muscles and the bones by physical activity. So the more sedentary you are, the uh the poorer the function becomes because it's something that has to be repeated and done on a daily basis. And the less that we do, the less intensity, frequency, and duration, the it the function is going to take a hit. It's gonna become less competent. Maybe not compensated, but initially less competent, which eventually may lead to compensation. So, for example, how we swallow. Um, the elderly notoriously eventually, oftentimes, has a higher risk for having deglutation problems or fancy word for say swallowing, where we choke more or we aspirate more saliva into the lungs introducing bacteria that don't belong there that result in chronic pneumonias and and uh upper airway infections and and and the like. And part of it is the function, the neurology, the muscles become weak, but the other part structurally is that the larynx starts to descend, um, and that makes this fleshy tube longer and more vulnerable. So those muscles have more collapsibility, if you will. And so that's very well documented in the um um sleep and language pathology literature, the um uh feeding uh literature having to do with feeding. And so um there are allied health professionals that focus on that, especially for the geriatric population, to uh to make sure that that um we can maintain those important functions because they they are important, they lead to problems for the for the elderly.

Singing And Wind Instruments As Training

SPEAKER_02 6:17

There are studies to show that if you are an opera singer or you sing a lot or you're in the choir or you play a wind instrument, that's super helpful in exercising those muscles. And so if you're able to do that, you less likely snore or snore less than you would otherwise, for example. Because snoring is as a result of that airway collapsing and the turbulent airflow from the collapsing uh flow limitation creates that sound that we interpret as a snore. So these are things that we say it's you know part of getting older, but actually, reality is yes, time has a factor, but a lot of it has to do with really our function. So um, you know, hopefully that can give a little bit of overall on how uh for the elderly, good airway health, good myo function will really help. Now, if you've got good hardware, good structure, white palate, um, big airway, then you're more immune to these problems. If you've gone through treatment and as a teenager, maybe you had teeth extracted and you were retracted and you have the midface of an eight-year-old, you know, when you're in your 70s, um, because of that stunted facial development, either because it was party from growth and development, or it was made worse by intervention of some sort. Um, those are just risk factors for any individual.

Five Competences For Lifelong Airway Health

SPEAKER_01 7:50

And how do we apply, like if you don't, you know, move it, you lose it? In this case, like you mentioned, singers or people who play instruments, yes, you know, they're they're doing more to help prevent some issues, or if you have good structure. What about the rest of us? What do we do? What can we do to prevent um having some functional issues down the road? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

Yeah, uh a lot of it is going back to uh we talked about another podcasts uh from the very beginning from When We're Born, you know, we want five competences. So competence is something we do very easily without thinking about it, and it's done very well. And that is that we breathe through our nose 90% of the time, uh, you know, except for when I'm speaking, right? We're we're gonna have a little bit of air coming in to phonate. But for the most part, 90% of the time, well documented, we should be exchanging gas through our nose. Uh lips together, tongue on the roof of the mouth, it seals off the oral cavity. So we are breathing and through the nose, it's supporting nasal breathing, non-collapsing pharynx during sleep. That means we don't snore, and air flows very smoothly, very nicely, and diaphragmatic breathing. So it's all interconnected. So the diaphragm is a very efficient muscle that draws the air in through breathing versus using chest muscles or intercostal muscles that are considered respiratory accessory muscles, yes, that we can use in certain situations, and we do, uh, but they're not as efficient. The the regular plan is those five competences. So as we age, we want to make sure that we maintain

Exercises, Professional Help, And Wrap Up

SPEAKER_02 9:38

that. Um, things that you could do uh are exercises. You go well on the internet, you can Google it or go on AI, ChatGPT, or Claude or Gemini, and look up what are some good exercises for uh airway, muscle function, or oral posture. And um, you could try to do those. I I think it's best guided by a professional, an allied health professional that really understands. But those those those are things that can be done, but it it's not really largely public knowledge at this point. People don't really think too much about it until they're in in trouble. And that's when they go to an allied health professional to have therapy. You know, so you go to see a physical therapist after you had knee surgery, right? To rehab, but there are some preventive steps that could be taken and you could educate yourself in that regard.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Well, Dr. Cruz, thank you so much for breaking this down and bringing uh attention to I think an area of health that a lot of people usually don't. I mean, I don't hear about it in my circles, and it's really great that you're enlightening us with this because if it can help somebody prevent a major issue with their health, I mean that's great.

SPEAKER_02 10:56

Yeah, absolutely. I hope it was helpful. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Thank you. And again, you you broke down that so nicely, the functional side of aging and airway health, and we always appreciate your time.

SPEAKER_02 11:07

And likewise, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 11:12

That's today's breath of fresh insight from airway focused dentistry with Dr. Mark A. Cruz. Remember, small changes in your airway can spark big changes in your life. Breathe, sleep, and be well. For more information, visit marcacruzDDS.com or call 949-661-1006. If this helped you, share the episode and maybe give your pillow a quieter night. See you next time.