All of us should be able to breathe through our nose with our mouth closed. This is particularly important for the growing children where nose breathing assures them healthy growth and physical development.

Physical, medical and social problems associated with mouth breathing are not easily recognised by health professionals.
Over time, children whose mouth breathing goes undetected and untreated may suffer from abnormal facial and dental development, such as long, narrow faces and mouths, gummy smiles, gingivitis and crooked teeth. The poor sleeping habits that results from mouth breathing can adversely affect growth and academic performance. Many of these children are misdiagnosed with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In addition, mouth breathing can cause poor oxygen concentration in the bloodstream.
Typically, children who mouth breathe, do not sleep well, causing them to be tired during the day and possibly unable to concentrate at school.

At Star Orthodontics we are very experienced in diagnosing and treating the adverse effect of mouth breathing. Treatments for mouth breathing are available and can be beneficial for children if the condition is caught early.
At the consultation we check for mouth breathing symptoms and swollen tonsils. If tonsils and /or adenoids are swollen we refer our patients to an ENT specialist.

If the face and mouth are narrow, with modern low friction self ligating appliances we expand the alveolar bones that helps widen the sinuses and open nasal airway passages.
With this combined approach on mouth breathing problems we can significantly improve quality of life and many of our patients show improvement in their facial and dental development, they also show improvement in behaviour, energy levels, academic performance, peer acceptance and growth. The earlier this problem is discovered and addressed, ideally at age 7-9, the shorter and less complex any treatment will be.

Please contact us to arrange a mouth breathing consultation and let us help and guide your child to control this habit effectively.