The human body is designed to breath through the nose. Open mouth breathing is caused by allergies that swell the inside of the nose and block the airway. The body then switches from the nose to the mouth for it's oxygen but the mouth makes a terrible nose. The first thing that happens with nasal blockage from allergies is that the mouth stays open. This is because if you close your mouth, you can't breath. If the mouth constantly stays open then the teeth will stop fitting together.

          With growing children,open mouth breathing from allergies can be disastrous. The jaws will not grow together and a bad bite (malocclusion) develops. The child's head rotates backward to make it easier to breath through the mouth but this backward rotation causes the eyes to rotate upward. To prevent this the patient throws her head forward and becomes "chicken necked " (forward head posture). The open mouth breathing can also cause the patient to have a constant dry mouth, especially in the morning. The forward head posture causes the collar bones, called the clavicles, to wing upward and forward. The shoulders will roll forward too. Normal collar bones are horizontal. If you, or your child, have winged clavicles it is probably a sign of severe allergies and future neck and back problems.

          Eventually the patient with open mouth breathing learns to keep the tongue low so that the tongue doesn't block the air coming through the mouth, much like a panting dog keeps its tongue down and hanging out of the mouth. If the tongue continues to stay low for many years a number of problems result. A normal tongue sticks to the palate when a person swallows. An abnormal tongue will not stick to the palate but will thrust forward. In severe cases the tongue thrusts forward and downward. The tongue is the strongest muscle in the body so it easily pushes teeth out of position. This abnormal tongue will also cause swallowing and speech problems.

          Many people with sleep apnea also suffer from open mouth breathing and wake up with morning headaches and a very dry mouth.

          If you are concerned that open mouth breathing is effecting your teeth and gums, consider making a consultation appointment with Dr. Padolsky by calling  404-874-7428.