Is mouth breathing harmful?

Thank you for your question. I agree with Dr Gan's explanation from the ENT standpoint. From the dental standpoint, long term breathing through the mouth also has a harmful impact on dental and facial development.

When patient are breathing through the mouth, the mouth is often apart and the cheek muscles press on the teeth, causing the dental arch shape to become very narrow and crowding of teeth. The teeth may further erupt in a vertical direction resulting in the mandible growing in a vertical and backward direction.

An anterior open bite (upper and lower front teeth does not meet) may develop in severe cases. A narrow dental arch can further impact on tongue space available hence may result in a narrowing of the airway which predispose patients to snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea or a forward tongue posture which may worsen anterior open bite. These dental problems will often need orthodontic treatment to be corrected.

I would urge you to see a ENT Specialist for further assessment to find out the cause of the mouth breathing if you are showing some associated symptoms as mentioned by Dr Gan, and seek treatment with an orthodontist familiar with sleep medicine for management of your related dental problems.

Warmest Regards,

Dr Enrica Sham

Blocked nose can be a very troublesome and annoying symptom and if you have been suffering from it for a while, a visit to an ENT Specialist is highly recommended.

Normal breathing should occur through your nose. Your nose and sinuses has the following important functions:

• Breathing
• Humidification and warming of the air that you breathe in
• Protection against dirt, bacteria and foreign bodies
• Smell
• Shapes the quality of your voice

If you constantly breathe through your mouth, you bypass the filtering and humidifying functions of the nose and sinuses. As a result, you may experience a dry mouth, sore throat and bad breath. Mouth breathing also predisposes you to snoring and a potentially dangerous health condition known as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

OSA is a condition in which you "stop breathing" for a short period of time many times throughout the night due to upper airway collapse. Snoring is a sign of OSA and anyone who snores should see an ENT Specialist or a doctor trained in Sleep Medicine for an assessment.

Hope this helps and all the best.