Kansas City Myo & Wellness: orofacial myofunctional therapy, health coaching, and wellness. Breathe your best life and bloom.
Mouthbreathing
Mouthbreathing can lead to a lifetime of health problems including poor facial development, sleep apnea, behavioral problems, dental cavities, and more.
A myofunctional therapist can help train you or your child to breathe properly.
We are designed to breathe nasally; air is humidified, filtered, and nitric oxide (which kills bacteria and acts as a vasodilator) is created only when breathing through the nose. When breathing through the mouth a greater volume of air is inhaled. Since our bodies want us to breathe nasally, our body tries to regulate that greater volume of air by increasing congestion. Unfortunately this makes it more difficult to breathe nasally and increases the mouthbreathing habit.
Mouthbreathing disrupts the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body. Oxygen is not being delivered to the cells properly; this is why one who mouthbreathes will often feel tired and have poor concentration.
You may have heard that weight-bearing exercise is good for bone density; that is because bone needs force and pressure to grow. The resting posture of the tongue against the palate is that gentle force for growth and expansion of your maxilla and palate (upper dental arch.) Mouthbreathing effects craniofacial growth and overall health.
Healthy lingual (tongue) posture is in the roof of the mouth. This allows for proper nasal breathing and helps shape the growing palate over time. When breathing through the mouth the tongue is in a low floor of the mouth position. Instead of the force of the tongue expanding the palate and creating an arch that will allow for all of the permanent teeth, a narrow arch & high palate can form. The face becomes narrow and elongated since bone grows where muscle guides it and an open mouth posture tells it to grow down and back.
“Because the palate is the floor of the nasal cavity, these children [with high arched palates] are more likely to have deviated nasal septa, narrowed airways, impaired sinuses, and increased nasal airway resistance, leading to mouthbreathing, which exacerbates their problems.”
Effects:
Allows bacteria, allergens, etc in and increases risk of colds/infections/allergies
Risk of sleep apnea due to effects on craniofacial structure
Pediatric behavioral issues (poor concentration/attention issues, adhd)
Sleep problems (frequent wakening, snoring, bedwetting, insomnia)
Enlarged tonsils and adenoids
Class II occlusion
Low energy
What to Look For:
Open mouth rest posture
Dark circles under eyes
Tired appearance
Allergies
Long narrow face
Dental crowding
Poor tone of upper lip
Full lower lip
Weak Chin
Messy/picky eater
Dry, chapped lips
High caries rate
Bad breath
“Noses are for breathing. Mouths are for eating. ”
Treatment:
Collaborative approach: ENT to establish patent airway, DDS to establish wide enough palate for proper tongue posture/address tongue tie, Myofunctional therapist to train facial muscles and tongue.
Myofunctional therapy strengthens the lips, tongue, and facial muscles to encourage closed mouth rest posture, palatal lingual rest posture, proper swallow, and nasal breathing.
Dr. German Ramirez, a world expert in orthodontics and pediatrics, put together an amazing video explaining on patients develop crooked teeth and how this can be prevented and treated. Often times breathing is not evaluated and this video illustrates the importance of nasal breathing.
“ “Most OMDs [Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders] originate with insufficient habitual nasal breathing or with oral breathing. The subsequent adaptation of the muscles and the orofacial functions to a disordered breathing pattern creates many OMDs.””