Common causes of mouth breathing include: Nasal blockages causes by cold, flu or allergies. Deviated septum or the cartilage divider between the nostrils is abnormal making it difficult to breath through the nose.
Long term mouth breathing can lead to a myriad of oral issues including crowded teeth, cracked lips, caries (or cavities), gum disease and more. But the issues don't stop at the mouth. Mouth breathers are also more likely to experience digestive issues, chronic fatigue, morning headaches and sore throat.
Yet, it's estimated that about 30-50% adults breathe through their mouth, especially earlier in the day. This could potentially lead to health issues like bad breath and dry mouth.
The studies from other countries report a wide range of the prevalence of mouth breathing, 4–56% [1–8]. Brazil has the highest prevalence, which exceeds 50% based on clinical assessment [1–3]. On the other hand, the lowest prevalence is in India, at 4–7% based on clinical assessment [6–8].
If you breathe through your mouth and breathe hard, there's less oxygen delivery to the cells.” This makes us more prone to high blood pressure, anxiety, stress, depression, sleep-disordered breathing, asthma and fatigue.
By exercising regularly with a regimen of a daily walk or run, you will increase your need for deep breaths; and your nose will naturally take the breathing away from your mouth.
Mouth breathing disrupts the exchange and decreases oxygen absorption. This can lead to over breathing because you need to breathe more frequently in order to replenish the oxygen that is being lost. Breathing through the nose also filters air and removes 98-99% of allergens, bacteria and viruses from the air.
Mouth breathing through the night can lead to diminished sleep quality, snoring and elevated stress.
When you breathe through your mouth, your lungs do not receive all of the benefits. Mouth breathing causes bad breath, poor sleep, early aging, gum disease, and high blood pressure in adults. According to Healthline, mouth breathing can lead to crooked teeth, facial deformities, or poor growth in children.
A solid routine will impact your facial structure
If you are a nose breather, the tongue creates a good definition of cheekbones and a wider face through force exerted against your jaw. Tongues of mouth breathers have nowhere to rest resulting in facial structure changes as time goes on.
Overall, a reduction in the synaptic connections made in the brain. Increases in the levels of cortisol and adrenaline, which can lead to anxiety and aggressive behavior.
One study proved that mouth breathing brings less oxygen to the brain compared to nasal breathing, which adversely affects brain function and gives rise to ADHD symptoms.
37 In this study we found that mouth breathing in the first 3 years of life was associated with autism, but not symptoms of sleep apnoea, or early snoring except at 42 months.
Itchy nose. Drooling while sleeping, or noticing drool on your pillow upon waking. Nocturnal sleep problems or agitated sleep. Nasal obstruction.
Mouth breathers demonstrated an increased mandibular plane angle, total and lower anterior facial height and decreased posterior facial height.
Researchers conclude that mouth breathing might lead to changes in the posture of the head and neck, and that chronic mouth breathing can result in an “adenoid face.” This type of facial structure involves a narrow upper dental arch, changes in incisors, an imperfect lip seal, and an increased facial height.
Causes of Mouth Breathing
Nasal obstruction (the partial or complete blockage of your nasal airways) is a common reason for mouth breathing. You may have a blocked nose from common things such as: Enlarged adenoids, which are the patches of tissue in the back of your throat and above your tonsils. Nasal allergies.
Chronic colds, sinus infections and allergies also cause mouth breathing. Healthcare providers may recommend medication to ease congestion that keeps people from breathing through their noses.
Background: Many patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are mouth-breathers. Mouth-breathing not only narrows the upper airway, consequently worsening the severity of OSA, but also it affects compliance with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment.
As an adult, the growth and development has already happened but it's not too late–there are MANY health benefits to breathing through your nose instead of your mouth at any age!
Practice, practice, practice – can you train yourself to not be a mouth breather? Mouth breathing may be a bad habit – just like any other habit however, it can be broken. It all takes regular breathing practice, consciously using your nose for you to kick the habit and start breathing properly.
Chronic sinusitis and obstructions are the two most common causes of poor breathing through the nose. Sinusitis occurs when the sinuses become irritated, inflamed, or infected.
Conclusion: All subjects with mouth-breathing habit exhibited a significant increase in lower incisor proclination, lip incompetency and convex facial profile. The presence of adenoids accentuated the facial convexity and mentolabial sulcus depth.
Learning to breathe through your nose with targeted exercises can help increase your lung capacity, enhance respiratory function and relieve stress and anxiety. If you find yourself mouth breathing more than you should, don't worry. “Breathing is a foundational practice,” Kulas says.