We see it all the time on social media—pictures of small children, soundly asleep, with their mouths wide open. Some parents think it’s sweet when their little one snores. But there’s a serious side to mouth breathing and snoring in children.
A growing body of scientific evidence confirms these children are heading for poor health, less attractive looks, and expensive dental problems.
Nose breathing draws air deeper into the lungs and has several physiological distinctions from the shallow, often quicker breaths taken through the mouth. The consequences of these differences are significant.
Mouth breathing during childhood has been proven to cause abnormal facial growth. When the mouth hangs open, gravity pulls the face down, displacing the tongue from its proper resting position. This results in narrow jaws and overcrowded teeth that become set back in the face, pushing the head forward and reducing the size of the upper airway. A narrow airway predicts a lifetime of sleep-disordered breathing, behavioral issues, poor academic performance, and a less attractive face. And the dry mouth that accompanies open-mouth breathing contributes to dental decay, early tooth loss, and halitosis.
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