Affects your appearance! Habitually opening your mouth does not necessarily mean mouth breathing! What should I do if I breathe by mouth?

When you are watching short videos on your mobile phone, have you ever seen videos about mouth breathing?

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Is mouth breathing really a killer of appearance? Does habitually opening your mouth mean you are mouth breathing? What should you do if you are mouth breathing?

01What is mouth breathing?

First of all, it should be made clear that not all mouth-opening is mouth breathing . Mouth breathing refers to a breathing method in which the airflow enters the lungs from the mouth instead of the nose due to blockage of the nasal airway.

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There is a small method to judge whether the people around you are really pathological mouth breathing or habitually open mouth: take a small makeup mirror and hold it vertically between the nose and mouth. If the mirror is fogged up when facing the mouth, it means that they are mouth breathing. If the mirror does not fog up when facing the mouth but fogs up when facing the nose, it means that the nasal cavity is well ventilated. In addition, you can also gently close his upper and lower lips. If the nasal cavity can be ventilated and sleep is not affected, then it is simply open mouth. On the contrary, if the nasal cavity is not ventilated and wakes up due to suffocation, it means that the nasal airway is blocked and mouth breathing.

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02What are the dangers of mouth breathing?

Whether breathing with your mouth open during sleep or during the day, it will lead to abnormal maxillofacial development in the long run, resulting in so-called adenoid facies, such as upturned lips and protruding teeth . However, it should be noted that not all such facial features are caused by adenoid hyperplasia and mouth breathing, but may also be due to genetics.

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Mouth breathing affects more than just appearance. Due to the obstruction of the nasal cavity and mouth breathing, the inhaled oxygen is insufficient. Long-term hypoxia can cause poor sleep quality, growth retardation, decreased learning ability, etc.

03What should I do if I suspect I am mouth breathing?

Keeping your mouth open for a long time does not necessarily mean mouth breathing. If not, it is best to go to the dental department to treat the bad habit, train your lip muscles and tongue muscles, and use myofunctional appliances or mouth breathing patches to correct the bad habit. Orthodontic treatment may be required for abnormal maxillofacial development or crooked teeth caused by keeping your mouth open for a long time.

If you are mouth breathing, it may be caused by adenoid hyperplasia.

Adenoids are lymphatic tissues located in the nasopharynx at the junction of the back of the nasal cavity and the pharynx. Inflammation of the nasal cavity or tonsils will stimulate adenoid hyperplasia. Generally speaking, adenoids hypertrophy is most common between the ages of 2 and 6, which is the kindergarten stage, and gradually shrinks after the age of 10. Most adenoid hypertrophy is physiological, but when adenoid hyperplasia causes symptoms such as long-term mouth breathing, snoring during sleep, or even breath holding, otitis media, etc., you need to be vigilant. It is best to go to the hospital for an electronic nasopharyngeal endoscopy or take a lateral nasopharyngeal film to check the extent of adenoid hyperplasia.

Image source: Tencent Medical Dictionary

Adenoid hyperplasia is often related to allergic rhinitis. You can wash your nose with saline, spray your nose with hormones, and take oral anti-allergic drugs when necessary. If drug treatment is ineffective or there are indications for surgery, adenoidectomy can be performed .

Of course, if you happen to have a cold recently, don’t be too nervous if you snore or open your mouth when you sleep occasionally. This is because when you have a respiratory tract infection, the adenoids will proliferate due to inflammation. In addition, the nasal cavity will become inflamed and swollen, which will cause your nose to be blocked and you have to breathe through your mouth when you sleep.

04Is a mouth breathing appliance useful?

A search on Taobao shows that there are generally two types of appliances for mouth breathing on the market, sealing stickers and correction belts. The principle of the appliance is very simple, which is to close the open mouth or support the lower jaw to achieve the purpose of closing the mouth.

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However, after understanding what mouth breathing is, we know that the problem cannot be solved by the appliance alone . The first step in treating mouth breathing is to find out the cause. Using a mouth breathing appliance only treats the symptoms but not the root cause. Instead, it will cause hypoxia due to the mouth being closed and the nasal cavity being blocked.

But mouth breathing appliances are not useless . If you have had adenoid hyperplasia or rhinitis and have developed a habit of mouth breathing for a long time, then mouth breathing appliances are also a method under the condition that the nasal cavity is ventilated.

Mouth breathing is a problem that should not be exaggerated but should not be underestimated. We can do some simple self-tests and go to the corresponding dental and otolaryngology departments for examinations according to our needs.

Don't be blind, and don't be anxious~

Author: Sun Jingwen, PhD, Department of Otolaryngology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Attending Physician, Department of Otolaryngology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital Editor: He Huizi