Mouth breathing, medically known as chronic oral ventilation, is long-term breathing through the mouth. It often is caused by an obstruction to breathing through the nose, the innate breathing organ in the human body.
Etymology
In the early 20th century, "mouth-breather" was a technical term used by doctors to describe children who were breathing through their mouths due to an underlying medical condition. English lexicographer Jonathon Green notes that by 1915, the phrase "mouth-breather" had developed a pejorative connotation within English slang, defined as a "stupid person".
Causes
In about 85% of cases, it is an adaptation to nasal congestion,
Potential effects
The impact of chronic mouth breathing on health is a research area within orthodontics (and the related field of myofunctional therapy)
There is a noted order of cause and effect leading to airway dysfunction related to mouth breathing. This first starts with an inflammatory reaction then leading to tissue growth in the area which leads to airway obstruction and mouth breathing and then finally an altered face structure.
Nasal breathing produces nitric oxide within the body, while mouth breathing does not.[ In contrast, however, mouth breathing "pulls all pollution and germs directly into the lungs; dry cold air in the lungs makes the secretions thick, slows the cleaning cilia, and slows down the passage of oxygen into the bloodstream".]
Conditions associated with mouth breathing include cheilitis glandularis,[ and snoring.]
Breathing through the mouth decreases saliva flow. Saliva has minerals to help neutralize bacteria, clean off the teeth, and rehydrate the tissues. Without it, the risk of gum disease and cavities increases.
Chronic mouth breathing in children may affect dental and facial growth.[ It may also lead to the development of a long, narrow face, sometimes termed long face syndrome.]
Additional approaches to mouth breathing
George Catlin
George Catlin was a 19th-century American painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the Old West. Travelling to the American West five times during the 1830s, he wrote about, and painted portraits that depicted, the life of the Plains Indians.[ He also observed that mothers repeatedly closed the mouth of their infants while they were sleeping, to instill nasal breathing as a habit.]
Yoga
Yogis such as B. K. S. Iyengar advocated both inhaling and exhaling through the nose in the practice of yoga, rather than inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth,
Mouth taping
Mouth taping is the practice of keeping the lips shut while sleeping with a strip of surgical tape. This is intended to prevent mouth breathing during sleep. The health effects of mouth taping have been little researched.
In non-human animals
Lambs are noted to only switch to mouth breathing when the nasal passages are completely obstructed, with hypoxaemia having developed also as a result.
See also
Further reading
External links
