14 Dangers of Mouth Breathing and What to Do About It

There are times when breathing through your mouth is necessary, such as when your nasal passages are congested or when overexertion has you catching your breath. However, chronic mouth breathing is a potential health risk in a wide range of ways. 

At Lee Dental in Frisco, Texas, we take habitual mouth breathing seriously, and we’re specialists in myofunctional therapy to help you restore regular nasal breathing. Let’s take a deeper look at chronic mouth breathing, the health dangers associated with the habit, and reveal some strategies to help prevent it. 

Reasons behind mouth breathing

Virtually everyone experiences temporary periods of mouth breathing, often during allergy season or when they suffer from a respiratory infection like a bout with cold or flu. Once the underlying cause clears up, people naturally return to dominant nose breathing. 

Persistent congestion, called chronic sinusitis, could mean that mouth breathing also persists. Sometimes, children develop the mouth breathing habit due to anatomical issues with their young bodies, such as enlarged adenoids. 

Mouth breathing can also develop later in life. A nasal problem called a deviated septum may develop over time or from a nose injury, making it more difficult to breathe through your nasal passages. 

Common symptoms of mouth breathing

Chronic mouth breathing causes the same symptoms in adults and children. Signs you may be relying on mouth breathing too much include: 

• Bad breath: due to the evaporation of saliva that naturally keeps your mouth clean
• Dry mouth: also due to saliva drying out
• Drooling: wet spots on your pillow indicates overnight mouth breathing
• Dental alignment: called malocclusion, this is a condition where your upper and lower teeth no longer line up properly

These symptoms may indicate the presence of mouth breathing, but they don’t begin to touch the dangers of the condition. 

14 dangers of mouth breathing

Your body design includes nasal breathing as the dominant form of respiration intake. The nasal airways warm and humidify incoming air as well as protect it from foreign objects and pathogens. 

In contrast, mouth breathing contributes to a number of health risks, including: 

• Increased risk of snoring and sleep apnea, which can lead to metabolic health issues
• Dental decay and gum disease due to dry mouth conditions
• Chronic halitosis (bad breath)
• Dysfunction of the temporomandibular joints that hinge your jaw
• Physical changes to the dental arches, palate, and jaws
• Crooked or crowded teeth
• Adenoid and tonsil enlargement
• Inefficient upper chest breathing
• Overbreathing
• Malocclusion: misalignment of upper and lower teeth
• Risk of orthodontic relapse
• Eating, speech, and swallowing problems

While some of these issues may not seem like serious problems, many have their own complications. For instance, sleep apnea can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. 

What to do about mouth breathing

As a result of chronic mouth breathing, you may have weak muscle support for nasal breathing. This is where myofunctional therapy comes into play. We can teach you how to engage your orofacial and tongue muscles to correct problems with breathing, eating, and talking. 

While effective for patients of any age, myofunctional therapy is particularly effective for children. Treatments are simple, noninvasive, and medication-free. 

When sleep apnea is a mouth breathing complication, a combination of myofunctional therapy and a custom oral appliance may be what you need to break the mouth breathing cycle while reducing the associated health risks. 

Schedule a mouth breathing assessment and consultation with the professionals at Lee Dental, online or by phone, today.