Learning to breathe nasally can relieve mouth breathers from many ill effects.
Mouth breathing, a tendency especially common among those with frequent allergies or nasal congestion, can cause many health problems beyond the nuisance of a dry mouth. According to dentist Dr. Yosh Jefferson, of Mount Holly, N.J., mouth breathing is an "unrecognized epidemic." Early detection and re-training among children, from an early age, can reverse its harmful effects.
Gingivitis
Mouth breathing may cause higher incidence of gingivitis, according to a 1998 study comparing the effects of mouth breathing and normal breathing among children, carried out by the Department of Pedodontia and Preventive Dentistry, Public Governmental Dental College and Hospital of Amritsar, India. Researchers M.S. Gulati, N. Grewal and A. Kaur compared mouth-breathers and nasal-breathers in a socio-economic cross-section of 240 children between the ages of 10 and 14. The children who breathed through their mouths had a higher gingival index than the other children. Those children who had partially open lips displayed a slightly higher gingival index than the pure nasal breathers. They also demonstrated a higher incidence of plaque build-up.
Facial Deformation
Over time, habitual mouth breathing can also negatively impact childrens' facial growth, as found in Dr. Yosh Jefferson's study of mouth breathing's effects on facial growth, health, academics and behavior, published in the Journal of General Dentistry in January of 2010. Jefferson finds a link between untreated mouth breathing and a lengthened, narrowed facial shape. The interior of the mouth is also affected, with a generally narrowed shape and a highly domed palate. Usually, the activity of swallowing exerts a slight pressure on the roof of the mouth, helping to determine its proper shape. Among mouth breathers, the drier mouth triggers them to swallow less frequently, and the palate's shape gradually deforms. Mouth breathers' sinuses narrow and jaws can become deformed, as well. Mouth breathing can even produce a different overall facial profile. In some cases, mouth breathing causes serious facial deformities that eventually require invasive corrective procedures such as braces or facial surgery.
Fatigue and Anxiety
According to Jefferson's research, mouth breathers regularly have sleeping problems, sleeping fitfully or experiencing such complications as sleep apnea. Often mouth breathing children, who do not receive sufficiently restful sleep, display frustration, anger and reduced attention spans. As such, they are frequently misdiagnosed as suffering from ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder). John Douillard, author of "Body, Mind, and Sport," confirms the connection between nasal breathing and improved restfulness. Douillard, a Boulder, Colorado-based Ayurvedic and chiropractic sports medicine practitioner, subjected a group of volunteers to a stress test. One group followed a nasal deep breathing technique and another did mouth breathing; the nasal breathers had brain wave activity indicating greater relaxation.
Tags: mouth breathing, mouth breathing, among children, facial growth, gingival index, gingival index than