Does your child breathe with his or 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 both your bite and your physical appearance.

Mouth breathing is generally caused by:

• Enlarged adenoids.
• Underdeveloped nasal passages.
• 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 mouth breathing. Special standardized radiographs can determine the size of the adenoid and its contribution to the mouth breathing 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 adenoids are part of the body’s immune system.

Orthodontic radiographic analysis also provides information about growth potential and structure of the face, and the doctor can determine if teeth are abnormally positioned due to mouth breathing. If so, it may not be possible to completely correct the abnormal teeth until the breathing problem is corrected.

If adenoids are not a problem, the doctor can determine if your child’s breathing may be aided by orthodontic expansion of the upper jaw. This procedure will aid nasal breathing while curing some future orthodontic problems.

Sometimes an evaluation of possible allergies will also enable your doctor to find the source of the child’s breathing problem and treat it effectively.

So, if your child breathes through his or 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 the optimal time to perform this initial evaluation.