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Conventional medical wisdom states that a child’s tonsils and adenoids begin to shrink in size between the ages of 12 and 20 years.  Since these tissues, when enlarged, affect a child’s breathing, sleep, and dental alignment, the expectation that their size will diminish is key for planning medical and orthodontia therapy.

A new study from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University now shows that tonsils and adenoids do not shrink over the teen years.  A careful longitudinal study of 90 adolescents using sequential cephalometric imaging at ages 8, 10, 13, 16, and 19 years of age reveals that growth of the throat cavity itself does occur giving more space to the same-sized tonsils and adenoids. 

Since the extra throat space that develops may not relieve the breathing or dental problems, this new data suggests that clinicians treating young children with obstructive tonsils and adenoids should be more proactive and consider removing these tissues at an earlier age.  

Younger children have fewer surgical complications from a T&A.   They will also benefit from the additional years of snore-free and apnea-free breathing, sounder sleep, and an opportunity for their teeth to adopt a healthier configuration obviating expensive orthodontia.

#tonsils #adenoids #OSA #orthodontia #sleepapnea #tonsillectomy #adenoidectomy #healthnews

 

Takayoshi Ishida, Asuka Manabe, Shin-Sheng Yang, Hyung Sik Yoon, Eiichiro Kanda, Takashi Ono. Patterns of adenoid and tonsil growth in Japanese children and adolescents: A longitudinal study. Scientific Reports, 2018; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35272-z