Mouth Breathing
DOES YOUR CHILD BREATHE PROPERLY?
Does your child breathe with his/her mouth open? Not everyone breathes properly, and recent research indicates that the way your child breathes can have a great impact on his or her future health and physical appearance.
Normal breathing passes air through the nose, but many children find nasal breathing difficult and must breathe through their mouths. The open mouth breathing position tends to alter muscle function, which affects growth of the face and results in an unusually long, narrow appearance. In addition, the jaws tend to grow apart rather than together, forcing the tongue to be held lower in the mouth than normal. This can cause a narrowing of the upper teeth and abnormal positions of all teeth, which affects the way you bite as well as your physical appearance.
Mouthbreathing is generally caused by one or more of three types of problems:
1. Enlarged adenoids.
2. Underdeveloped nasal passages.
3. Nasal blockage caused by allergies, swollen tissue, or other obstructions such as polyps.
Recent research has given doctors more effective methods of diagnosing and treating mouthbreathing. Special standardized radiographs can be measured to determine the size of the adenoid and its contribution to the mouthbreathing problem. If the adenoids are at fault, it may be desirable to remove them completely or partially. However, this must be weighed carefully for each individual, since the adenoid is a part of the body's immune system.
Orthodontic radiographic analysis also gives information to anaylze the growth potential and structure of the face. If the face is showing tendencies toward a long, narrow structure, this should also be considered in the decision. He can also determine if teeth are abnormally positioned due to mouthbreathing. If so, it may not be possible to completely correct the abnormal teeth until the breathing problem is corrected.
If the adenoid is not a problem, the doctor can determine if your child's breathing could be aided by orthodontic expansion of the upper jaw. This procedure will aid nasal breathing while, at the same time, cure some (but not all) future orthodontic problems.
Sometimes an evaluation of possible allergies, will enable your doctor to better evaluate your child's breathing and treat the problem in the most effective manner.
So, if your child breathes through his/her mouth regularly, please bring this to our attention. We may be able to correct the problem before it can seriously affect other areas.
Age seven is an excellent time for us to do our initial evaluation.
