It’s normal to indulge in mouth-breathing, especially when it becomes impossible to breathe through a stuffy nose when we have a cold. Mouth-breathing works as a backup, but what happens when it gradually becomes your default setting? There are many negative effects of mouth-breathing full-time, particularly if the habit begins during childhood.

Why Does Mouth-Breathing Become A Habit?

Numerous things can prompt a mouth-breathing habit. There is a chance that a small child might get a cold and then simply continue breathing through his mouth when his nose clears. If there is a problem with bite alignment then it might be difficult to keep the mouth closed. Persistent allergies, enlarged tonsils, or a deviated septum could make nose-breathing difficult or impossible most of the time. Luckily, these issues can be solved by orthodontic treatment or medical procedures.

Why Mouth-Breathing Is A Problem

In the short term, mouth-breathing leads to a variety of issues, including:

Dry mouth: Mouth-breathing dries out the mouth, evacuating the primary guard against oral microscopic organisms. This can prompt negative results. For example, chronic bad breath and tooth decay.

Lack of energy: Getting less oxygen by breathing through the mouth will result in poor sleep quality, and bring down vitality levels. For children, this implies trouble focusing in school, and for grown-ups, work productivity can suffer.

The negative effects of mouth-breathing don’t stop in the short-term. They can be life-altering, particularly when the habit begins in childhood and goes unchecked.

Facial structure: Mouth-breathing can lead the bones of the face to grow in an unexpected way, yielding flat features, drooping eyes, a narrow jaw and dental arch, and a small chin.

Sleep apnea: The danger of sleep apnea goes up with mouth-breathing, and this can make it hard to get a soothing night’s rest.

Orthodontic treatment: The limited dental curve of a chronic mouth-breather rarely has enough room for the full set of adult teeth, and this will require orthodontic treatment to correct it.

The Benefits Of Nose-Breathing

If you breathe through your nose, it doesn’t only help you to avoid the effects of mouth-breathing, but comes with additional benefits too! Here are just a few of them:

• The nose acts as an air filter, delivering clean air to the lungs and reducing the amount of allergens that get in.
• Nose-breathing produces nitric oxide, which helps with oxygen absorption and sterilizes the air.
• Nose-breathing strengthens the immune system by activating immunoglobulin production.

Need Help Building Healthier Breathing Habits?

Mouth-breathing can sometimes be tricky to break, especially if the cause is a physical obstruction that requires treatment.

Schedule a dental exam right away with Surana Dental Care, so the cause can be detected and you can get on the road to healthier breathing and all the benefits that come with it!