Mouthbreathing in Children
When should children start nose breathing?
As soon as they are born! Babies are obligate nose breathers until about 12 weeks of age. When a baby opens its mouth to breathe, you should close it right away. At YOUR bedtime, check your children and close their mouths if they are open. You an also roll up a face cloth and place it under their chin to keep the mouth closed. Once a child nose breathes all night long, they are more likely to become nose breathers during the day as well. For children who are older and are chronic mouth breathers, we need to address that right away to prevent them from developing symptoms that seem unrelated to mouth breathing. Most doctors do not understand the connection between mouth breathing and the list of symptoms found below:
What problems can children who are mouthbreathing have?
- asthma
- allergies
- increased tooth decay
- frequent gum disease
- bad breath
- increased susceptibility to colds and flu
- snoring
- sleep apnea
- disrupted sleep
- difficulty going to bed/sleep
- restless sleep
- ADHD
- development of a long, narrow face
- open mouth posture at rest
- dark shadows under eyes – “allergic shiners”
- underdevelopment of the sinuses
- ear infections
- chronically blocked or stuffy noses
- sweating
- nightmares/night terrors
- wetting the bed during the night
- fatigue first thing in the morning
- poor concentration
- difficulty with problem solving
- large adenoids
- lower IQ by 11 years of age (at least 10 points less according to some studies)
- cough or wheeze during the night
- narrow maxilla producing cross bites and crowding
- orthodontic bills = $10,000!! (which will not be able to correct skeletal deformities)