Common causes of mouth breathing include:
Allergies/food sensitivities
Asthma
Chronic nasal congestion
Deviated septum
Enlarged tonsils/adenoids
Nasal polyps
Respiratory infection
The way we breathe
Our bodies are meant to breathe solely through our nose. However, it is completely natural to breathe through our mouths at certain times such as when doing something strenuous.
Mouth breathing is typically done out of necessity when the nose can’t get enough air due to various reasons. It can become a life-long habit and affect health negatively if it is not corrected.
Oxygen is the human body's number one priority for life, and the mouth is a great emergency source for air when there is a nasal blockage. However, when mouth breathing becomes a habit, many health issues may follow. It is important to address nasal blockages and consider nasal breathing a powerful tool in preventive medicine. It is important that an effort be made to breathe through the nose all day and night.
The way we breathe is crucial to our overall health. Incorrect breathing can lead to health issues. Mouth breathing can affect the airway as well as the development of the face as a child grows.
Luckily, overbreathing habits can be changed and breathing pattern disorders can be reversed. Nasal breathing day and night has the power to transform your life. What is more essential than the oxygen we breathe and the way in which we deliver that oxygen to our bodies?
What about you? Are you a mouth breather?
Even if your lips are slightly apart at rest, you may be breathing through your mouth. It can be very subtle, but very detrimental to your health.
What are common signs of mouth breathing?
Mouth breathing often develops into the habit of over-breathing. What does mouth breathing it look like?
Open mouth posture
Regular sighs
Chapped lips
Bad breath
Fatigue/never feeling rested
Sniffling often
Audible breathing during rest
Yawning regularly
Holding the breath
Heavy breathing at night
Taking large breaths prior to talking
Breathing through the chest
Waking to drink water
Waking up with a dry mouth
Dark circles under the eyes
What is the big deal with mouth breathing?
Breathing through the mouth most of the time can cause the following problems:
Activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System (flight or flight mode) during sleep caused by hyperventilation
Breathing dysfunction puts the body in "fight or flight" mode. Nasal breathing, puts the body into a “rest and digest" state, which allows the body's recovery process to occur during sleep.
Dry mouth which affects dental health (cavities and gum inflammation)
Breathing through the mouth can cause dry mouth which can lead to cavities, inflammation of the gums, and bad breath. The bacteria becomes very sticky and difficult to remove with brushing.
Breathing in unfiltered/unpurified air
Nasal hair filters out dust, allergens, and pollen, which helps prevent them from entering your lungs.
Enlarged tonsils and adenoids
Mouth breathing can cause the tonsils and adenoids to become inflamed and enlarged. This can cause the airways to become narrower causing greater difficulty in breathing.
Low tongue posture — when the mouth is open, the tongue does not rest up on the roof of the mouth and can cause the following:
Narrow palate
The tongue is the major shaper of the palate and jaw. A low tongue will not help to shape the palate into the proper
U-shape. The palate then becomes more V-shaped, causing crooked teeth and a narrow airway.
Crowded teeth
If the tongue doesn't rest in the roof of the mouth, the top jaw will become too narrow, and the teeth won’t have enough room to grow straight. The lower jaw is forced back and down and teeth can be very crooked.
Long and narrow facial growth
Proper tongue posture causes the upper jaw to broaden and grow forward and wide in a healthy, aesthetically appealing manner. With low tongue posture, the midface doesn't grow, but the face narrows and elongates.
Tongue thrust swallowing pattern
A tongue thrust is an abnormal swallow. The terms tongue thrust refers to the placement of the tongue while swallowing. If the tongue protrudes past the front teeth anteriorly, or the tip and/or sides of the tongue spread between the teeth it is considered a tongue thrust.
How can orofacial myofunctional therapy help?
Myofunctional therapy will help in strengthening and gaining control of the lips. Individuals who don’t even realize that they are mouth breathing can become aware they are in fact breathing through their mouth. Even when lips are only slightly apart, that is still enough to be considered mouth breathing. When a person wakes in the morning with a dry mouth, then they are most likely mouth breathing while sleeping. If a person is mouth breathing at night, chances are extremely likely there is some kind of mouth breathing occuring during the the day that is not even being realized.
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