How Mouth Breathing Affects Children's Growth and Development

Mouth breathing might seem like a simple habit, but it can have far-reaching consequences for a child’s overall growth and development. Early intervention and tailored approaches are crucial when addressing mouth breathing in children to prevent potential complications

Nose Breathing vs. Mouth Breathing: What’s the Difference?

Physiological Differences Between Nose and Mouth Breathing

Breathing through the nose and mouth activates different physiological mechanisms. When breathing through the nose, the air is filtered, warmed, and humidified before entering the lungs. The nasal passage contains tiny hairs (cilia) and mucus that trap dust, allergens, and other particles, ensuring cleaner air reaches the respiratory system. Additionally, nasal breathing enhances the production of nitric oxide, a gas that improves blood circulation and oxygen delivery.

In contrast, mouth breathing bypasses these natural filters, allowing drier and less filtered air to enter the lungs, making the respiratory system more susceptible to infections and irritations. Habitual mouth breathing, especially in children, can lead to structural changes in the face, such as a longer face and narrower dental arches, impacting dental health and alignment.

Signs of Mouth Breathing in Children

Mouth breathing in children can manifest subtly at first but becomes more noticeable over time. Recognising these signs early can help parents address the issue before it leads to significant health problems.

• Dry Mouth and Bad Breath: A dry mouth, often resulting in bad breath, is a common sign. Mouth breathing decreases saliva production, leading to dryness and unpleasant odours.
• Chronic Nasal Congestion: If a child constantly has a stuffy nose and prefers mouth breathing, it might indicate an underlying issue, such as allergies or enlarged adenoids.
• Snoring and Restless Sleep: Mouth breathing can lead to snoring and restless sleep, as the airway is more likely to become obstructed. This may also cause frequent awakenings during the night.
• Daytime Fatigue and Irritability: Poor sleep quality from mouth breathing can lead to daytime fatigue, mood swings, and difficulty concentrating.
• Dry, Chapped Lips: Constant mouth breathing can dry the lips and surrounding skin, leading to chapping.
• Frequent Throat Infections: Mouth breathing bypasses the nasal filtration system, increasing the risk of respiratory infections and throat problems.
• Changes in Facial Structure: Prolonged mouth breathing can cause a child’s face to appear longer, with narrower dental arches and misaligned teeth.
• Open Mouth Posture: A noticeable sign is the child maintaining an open mouth posture, even when relaxed or sleeping.

How Do You Designate a “Mouth Breather?”

For healthy individuals, breathing through the nose is natural and normal. When watching your child as an infant, you probably never noticed them lying in their crib with their mouth open. This change from breathing through the nose to the mouth happens when an obstruction is present in the nasal passage. If your child is unable to receive enough oxygen through the nose, survival instincts kick in and mouth breathing occurs.

To designate someone as a “mouth breather,” one of the following reasons might be to blame:

• An obstruction exists within the nasal passage
• Your child has a deviated septum, polyps, or enlarged bones, vessels, or tissue in the nasal passageway (also known as turbinates)
• Tongue-tie (also known as ankyloglossia)
• It is a habitual way to breathe

Is There Such a Thing as a Partial Mouth Breather?

Yes, it is possible to be a partial mouth breather. During, the day, you may notice your child experiences no issues breathing through the mouth; however, the moment they lie down, it all changes. This is usually due to the sinuses and whatever might exist within the nasal passage moving toward the back of the mouth. Even the tongue or lower jaw (mandible) position while laying down can effectively obstruct your child’s airway. The presence of tethered oral tissues, such as tongue-ties can also create issues with breathing during the day and night time due to possible airway restriction.

What Can Happen if Mouth Breathing is Left Untreated?

• Slow growth: Your child’s ability to enter deep, non-REM sleep is important for the body’s natural release of growth hormone. Mouth breathers are more susceptible to sleep arousals preventing them from reaching a deep rejuvenating sleep state. This can also negatively impact the release of growth hormone and preventing a child from reaching their full genetic growth potential.
• Bed-wetting: When your child enters the sleep stage that causes their muscles to fully relax, their tongue may fall back and obstruct the airway. As a result, their body will try to move to unblock the obstruction and come out of deep sleep. When this happens, they may experience regular bed-wetting when taking a breath.
• Cavity formations: If your child is suffering from dry mouth, this can cause plaque to accumulate and cause decay to form within the mouth. Saliva is not only helpful in washing away bad bacteria and food particles, but it also helps to protect the teeth. When there isn’t enough saliva in your child’s mouth, they will not have the protective buffering and remineralizing effects of saliva that inhibit cavity formation.
• Behavioral problems: Should your child become restless throughout the night because they cannot breathe properly, you will likely notice changes in their behavior. Whether it is chronic fatigue or irritability, this is a clear sign that something is happening while they are asleep. Deep sleep is the brain’s time to rest, recharge, and rejuvenate. Shallow sleep or frequent sleep arousals leave the brain fatigued, which can result in symptoms of attention deficit, hyperactivity, and irritability.
• Changes in facial shape: You may notice that your child’s inability to breathe well causes their jaw to become elongated and narrower. Chronic mouth breathers may have a more narrow and elongated facial shape with a retruded lower jaw when viewing their profile. Changes to the skeletal growth pattern of a child can lead to exacerbating the symptoms of sleep disordered breathing.

How Can Your Baby’s Mouth Breathing Be Treated?

Of course, one of the most obvious signs of mouth breathing is to simply watch your child while he or she breathes. You will notice right away if chronic mouth breathing occurs. However, early diagnosis is important for your child’s growth and development, which is why interceding during the early years is crucial.

Dental checkups and examinations are essential, even for babies. These visits as part of maintaining optimal oral health, but also to allow the dentist an opportunity to identify issues when they first appear, which makes correcting the problem much easier.

If, however, your child is older and in the adolescence stage, the dentist can still help your child who mouth breathes by re-training their oral and facial muscles through a serious of painless exercises known as myofunctional therapy. These specially designed exercises can help stop mouth breathing and encourage breathing through the nose. It is truly phenomenal to see how these exercises can significantly change a child’s appearance and health, all without the need for extensive treatments.

However, the most important factor to remember is that the earlier we correct this problem, the better. While a child is growing and developing is the ideal time to retrain their oral muscles using myofunctional therapy.

To learn more about proper breathing habits or to schedule a consultation for myofunctional therapy, please contact THE DENTAL PORT by calling at +91 9355333956,7836983698 to schedule a consultation.

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