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MOUTH
breathing? Five important reasons why your child shouldn’t. By Maribel Santos-Cordero, DMD
The nose is for breathing, and the mouth is for eating. Pretty simple, right? So, why don’t we all use the nose to breathe? I was once evaluating a child with sleep apnea and asked him if he was a nose or mouth breather. He said: “Both! When my nose is not working, my mouth helps.” He was not wrong. Nasal breathing requires lips together, tongue on the palate and a nose free of obstruction. The inability to breathe normally through the nose forces your mouth to do the job. The nose is “the filter” of your body. The cilia (little hairs) inside your nose help keep dust and microbes away from your lungs. Nitric oxide is produced in the nose to improve your lung’s ability to increase and transport oxygen throughout your body. It also helps the immune system fight infections. When you mouth-breathe, your tonsils are forced to “clean-up”. Unfortunately, they can’t purify the air and often become inflamed. Inflammation makes it more difficult to breathe. As impurities make their way to the lungs, allergies, asthma and eczema
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GULFCOAST FAMILY LIVING
• A tongue-tie may restrict movement by keeping the tongue low in the mouth and preventing it from placing forces against the palate (roof-of-mouth) when swallowing. This will make the palate grow high and narrow making the nasal cavity smaller. • Stress and anxiety activate the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and promotes rapid, shallow breathing through the mouth.
may be triggered. Many children with recurrent allergies and congestion resort to mouth-breathing as a habit and a necessity. And the cycle begins again. WHAT CAN INTERFERE WITH PROPER BREATHING? • An obstruction in the form of enlarged turbinates, deviated septum, swollen tonsils or adenoids will not allow air to fully pass through the nose. • Nasal congestion from chronic allergies, asthma, recurrent colds, or sinus infections builds up mucus and creates inflammation making it difficult to clear your nose.
WHY SHOULDN’T YOUR CHILD USE THEIR MOUTH TO BREATHE ROUTINELY? Children who frequently mouth-breathe may develop: Facial deformities In a growing child, the growth of the head and face gets affected by forces applied by the soft tissue against the bone. When the mouth is open, the lower jaw brings the tongue down with it and does not allow it to put pressure on the palate. Unable to counteract the forces of the cheek muscles, the upper jaw becomes high and narrow, the face grows long, and the jaws set back.
