Mouth Breathing

Mouth breathing — when you frequently take in air through your mouth instead of your nose — may make sense when you’re racing to catch a bus. But mouth breathing can be an issue when it’s the only way that you breathe. Mouth breathing in adults isn’t a serious health issue. But mouth breathing in children can affect their growth and behavior. It may even change the shape of their faces.

Symptoms of mouth breathing

Mouth breathing affects children and grownups alike. Common symptoms include:

• Bad breath
• Drooling when asleep
• Dry mouth
• Feeling tired all the time
• Hoarseness
• Snoring

Mouth breathing in children may cause other symptoms, including:

• Mouth breathing face: Breathing through their mouth instead of their nose can change the shape of your child’s face. Their face may be narrow. They may have a receding chin or jaw. Their upper and lower teeth may not line up.
• Growth issues: Mouth breathing isn’t directly responsible for growth issues in children. But sometimes, children breathe through their mouth because something blocks their airway, such as enlarged adenoids. Research suggests that issues with children’s airways keep their pituitary glands from releasing enough human growth hormone (HGH), which can impact growth.
• Behavior issues: Some experts believe children who have mouth breathing may have sleep apnea or other sleep issues. Lack of sleep may make them irritable and restless. This can cause other behavior issues like those seen in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Mouth breathing causes

Most people have mouth breathing because they can’t get air in through their nose. Conditions that may keep air from flowing through your nose include:

• Deviated septum: This is when your septum — cartilage and bone that divides the inside of your nose — leans to one side and blocks your airway.
• Enlarged turbinate: Turbinates are structures in your nose. They moisten and clean the air flowing through it. Allergies, infections and irritation that make your lower turbinates swell can make it hard for you to breathe through your nose.
• Enlarged adenoids or tonsils: Children who mouth breathe may have swollen or infected adenoids or tonsils that block their airways.
• Nasal congestion: Allergies, colds or chronic sinusitis can clog your nose, so you breathe through your mouth.
• Nasal polyps: This is a growth in your nose. You may breathe through your mouth if swollen or irritated nasal polyps make it hard for air to go through your nose.
• Sleep apnea: This condition makes you stop breathing while you’re asleep, preventing restful sleep.

How doctors diagnose this condition

A healthcare provider will do a physical exam. They’ll look inside your nose and throat. They may do tests like:

• Lip seal test: This test checks whether you can breathe with your mouth closed.
• Mirror test: Your healthcare provider holds a mirror under your nose to look for clouding or condensation. Those are signs you’re breathing through your nose.
• Water test: You hold water in your mouth, which means you must get air through your nose.

How is mouth breathing treated?

A healthcare provider will treat the condition that makes it hard for you to breathe through your nose. They may recommend or prescribe the following treatments:

• Antihistamines or steroid nasal sprays to ease allergy symptoms
• Antihistamines and decongestants can help when a cold causes a stuffy nose
• Antibiotics for a sinus infection that lasts more than 10 days

They may recommend you or your child have surgery, including:

• Adenoidectomy: They may do this surgery to remove infected or swollen adenoids that block your child’s airway.
• Septoplasty: This surgery fixes a deviated septum so it’s easier for you to breathe through your nose.
• Turbinate reduction: This surgery reduces the size of turbinates in your nose so that air can move through your nose.

When should I seek care?

Talk to a healthcare provider if you have mouth breathing symptoms like bad breath or drool on your pillow. Ask your child’s pediatrician to check your child’s nose and airway if you notice your child often breathes through their mouth or they have symptoms of mouth breathing.

Can mouth breathing be prevented?

Mouth breathing in children can become a harmful habit. You can help prevent that by:

• Watching for stuffy noses. Children who have chronic nasal congestion are more likely to develop mouth breathing. Treating the congestion will help.
• Checking their sleeping habits. If your child is a restless sleeper or snores, they could be having trouble breathing through their nose.

Talk to a healthcare provider if you notice you’re breathing through your mouth more than your nose or think you’re mouth breathing while you sleep. (Your first clue may be the icky combination of a dry mouth, bad breath and drool on your pillow.) They’ll find out why you can’t get air in through your nose.