This page is currently under construction, coming soon
Is your child mouth breathing?
|
Try to observe the breathing when your child is concentrating, while doing homework, sleeping or watching TV.
Check how long your child maintains an open mouth posture – if the mouth is open at least 40 percent of the time it is important to take action.
Answering yes to any of these questions indicates your child has disordered breathing. |
|
Mouth breathing: effects on childhood development
Mouth breathing is a common habit, present in more than 50 percent of children. It is caused by airway obstruction or small airway size. Common risk factors include swollen adenoids and tonsils or a blocked, stuffy nose.
Breathing through an open mouth is extremely detrimental to the development of the face, teeth and upper airways. Left untreated in childhood, the habit results in abnormal facial features and smaller airways in adulthood.
This perpetuates poor breathing habits and leads to a lifetime of health issues. When a child mouth-breathes, the brain receives insufficient oxygen. Long term, this has been proven to have a direct impact on cognitive ability, learning and behaviour.
Mouth breathing at night can result in sleep-disordered breathing with problems such as snoring and sleep apnea. No child should ever snore.
The Buteyko Technique is a gentle breathing re-education program. It is suitable for everyone.
Breathing through an open mouth is extremely detrimental to the development of the face, teeth and upper airways. Left untreated in childhood, the habit results in abnormal facial features and smaller airways in adulthood.
This perpetuates poor breathing habits and leads to a lifetime of health issues. When a child mouth-breathes, the brain receives insufficient oxygen. Long term, this has been proven to have a direct impact on cognitive ability, learning and behaviour.
Mouth breathing at night can result in sleep-disordered breathing with problems such as snoring and sleep apnea. No child should ever snore.
The Buteyko Technique is a gentle breathing re-education program. It is suitable for everyone.
Adverse effects on facial growth
Dr. Yosh Jefferson in a paper entitled Mouth breathing: adverse effects on facial growth, health, academics, and behavior states the following: “The vast majority of health care professionals are unaware of the negative impact of upper airway obstruction (mouth breathing) on normal facial growth and physiologic health. Children whose mouth breathing is untreated may develop long, narrow faces, narrow mouths, high palatal vaults, dental malocclusion, gummy smiles, and many other unattractive facial features”.
In this paper he also states: “These children do not sleep well at night due to obstructed airways; this lack of sleep can adversely affect their growth and academic performance. Many of these children are misdiagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and hyperactivity”.
“It is important for the entire health care community (including general and pediatric dentists) to screen and diagnose for mouth breathing in adults and in children as young as 5 years of age. If mouth breathing is treated early, its negative effect on facial and dental development and the medical and social problems associated with it can be reduced or averted”.
Jefferson Y. Mouth breathing: adverse effects on facial growth, health, academics, and behavior. Gen Dent. 2010 Jan-Feb;58(1):18-25; quiz 26-7, 79-80.
In this paper he also states: “These children do not sleep well at night due to obstructed airways; this lack of sleep can adversely affect their growth and academic performance. Many of these children are misdiagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and hyperactivity”.
“It is important for the entire health care community (including general and pediatric dentists) to screen and diagnose for mouth breathing in adults and in children as young as 5 years of age. If mouth breathing is treated early, its negative effect on facial and dental development and the medical and social problems associated with it can be reduced or averted”.
Jefferson Y. Mouth breathing: adverse effects on facial growth, health, academics, and behavior. Gen Dent. 2010 Jan-Feb;58(1):18-25; quiz 26-7, 79-80.
What causes mouth breathing?
Mouth breathing in children is always caused by some sort of obstruction in the airways or by an airway that is narrow for some reason. One 2018 review found that children with nasal obstruction are 5.55 times more likely to mouth-breathe. Obstruction is often the result of swollen adenoids and/or tonsils. When these soft tissues in the back of the throat are enlarged, the airway becomes much narrower. This is not just an uncomfortable childhood malady. Untreated swollen adenoids can lead to irreversible abnormalities in facial growth. Other things that contribute to mouth breathing include lower airway issues including asthma, thumb sucking, excessive use of pacifiers, a high narrow palate (children with a narrow palate are 2.99 times more likely to mouth-breathe), a small nose, tongue-tie (tissue holding the tongue down to the floor of the mouth), lip-tie, deviated nasal septum, bottle-feeding and even environment (an excessively warm or poorly ventilated home).
Conventional pacifiers have been linked to abnormal dental growth, and one study found that for each year of pacifier use, the probability of mouth breathing increases by 25 percent. The man-made teats intrinsic to bottle-feeding can produce similar problems. Breastfeeding not only provides your baby with proper nutrition, it also helps the face and jaw muscles develop in a way that bottle-feeding just can’t replicate.
Tongue and lip ties can cause the baby difficulty suckling and prevent correct positioning of the tongue. If the mouth is hanging open, the tongue will not rest naturally against the roof of the mouth. Try it for yourself. Place three-quarters of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, then open your mouth and try to breathe. It’s not easy. Along with nasal breathing, the position of the tongue is important as it moulds the top jaw into a wide U shape, ensuring a healthy, attractively proportioned face with enough room in both jaws for all of the adult teeth. I once heard a speaker at a sleep conference describe how midwives in sixteenth century France had an extra long finger nail to release tongue ties of babies soon after birth. Bizarre as it may sound, this may have been the difference between life and death for those children.
Another common cause of mouth breathing is a condition called allergic rhinitis, an inflammatory disorder that affects about 40 percent of children. Rhinitis creates symptoms including nasal discharge, sneezing, blocked nose, palatal itching, mood swings and tiredness, most of which are also common to children who mouth-breathe, and can be relieved by learning to breath through the nose.
Conventional pacifiers have been linked to abnormal dental growth, and one study found that for each year of pacifier use, the probability of mouth breathing increases by 25 percent. The man-made teats intrinsic to bottle-feeding can produce similar problems. Breastfeeding not only provides your baby with proper nutrition, it also helps the face and jaw muscles develop in a way that bottle-feeding just can’t replicate.
Tongue and lip ties can cause the baby difficulty suckling and prevent correct positioning of the tongue. If the mouth is hanging open, the tongue will not rest naturally against the roof of the mouth. Try it for yourself. Place three-quarters of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, then open your mouth and try to breathe. It’s not easy. Along with nasal breathing, the position of the tongue is important as it moulds the top jaw into a wide U shape, ensuring a healthy, attractively proportioned face with enough room in both jaws for all of the adult teeth. I once heard a speaker at a sleep conference describe how midwives in sixteenth century France had an extra long finger nail to release tongue ties of babies soon after birth. Bizarre as it may sound, this may have been the difference between life and death for those children.
Another common cause of mouth breathing is a condition called allergic rhinitis, an inflammatory disorder that affects about 40 percent of children. Rhinitis creates symptoms including nasal discharge, sneezing, blocked nose, palatal itching, mood swings and tiredness, most of which are also common to children who mouth-breathe, and can be relieved by learning to breath through the nose.
