Breathing through the mouth has a number of effects which includes changing the shape of the face. Under normal circumstances, healthy people breath through their nose; however, in some cases, breathing through the nose and mouth may take place at the same time especially when lifting a heavy object or when performing exercise such as running. When a person has a cold/catarrh, the nostrils are blocked so he/she results to breathing through the mouth. This is an adaptation which the person employs as a means of taking in air temporarily due to the blocked nostrils.
In the absence of exercise or blocked nostrils (in people with catarrh), if a person breaths through his/her mouth during rest, he/she is said to be a chronic mouth breather. This is usually caused by an obstruction to the airway such as abnormally large tonsils.
Effects of Breathing Through the Mouth
1. Effects on the Gums: It has been observed that people who breath through their mouth often have gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) which is due to irritation of their gums as a result of air which blows constantly on the gums when breathing through the mouth.
2. Effects on the arrangement of the Teeth: people who breath through their mouth often end up having the habit of thrusting their tongue which may lead to them having space between the upper and lower teeth known as ‘Anterior Openbite’. Also, they may have crowding (overlapping) of the teeth.
3. Effect on Growth and development of the face: breathing through the mouth may change the shape of the face giving it a ‘Long face’ appearance. This change happens in growing children who breath through the mouth.
4. Other Effects: mouth breathing may cause mouth odour and cavities (tooth decay) as a result of dryness of the mouth which occurs in people who breath through their mouth.
NB: If you have a child that breaths through the mouth, it is important to take him/her to the hospital in order to determine the cause. This could help solve the mouth breathing problem and ultimately prevent the effects on the face and mouth.
Photo credit: Smile reminder