"Mouth breather" redirects here. For the song, seeMouth Breather.
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Treatment of the underlying cause of nasal congestion if present, building a habit to breathe through the nose
Mouth breathing, medically known aschronic oral ventilation, is long-termbreathing through the mouth. It often is caused by an obstruction tobreathing through the nose, the innate breathing organ in the human body.[3][4][5] However, by the early 20th century, the term "mouth-breather" had developed apejorative slang meaning connoting a stupid person.
Image 23 from the 1903 book by William F. Barry, M.D.,The Hygiene of the Schoolroom. Barry describes this child as having "the typical face of a mouth-breather".
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 lexicographerJonathon Green notes that by 1915, the phrase "mouth-breather" had developed apejorative connotation within English slang, defined as a "stupid person".[6] Currently, theMacmillan Dictionary defines the term "mouth breather" as a pejorative noun that is used to mean "a stupid person".[7][4]
In about 85% of cases, it is an adaptation tonasal congestion,[8]: 281 [9] and frequently occurs during sleep.[10] More specialized causes include:antrochoanal polyps;[11]: 350 a short upper lip which prevents the lips from meeting at rest (lip incompetence);[8]: 281 and pregnancyrhinitis, which tends to occur in the third trimester of pregnancy.[12]: 435
Chronic mouth breathing may trigger a localizedimmune response in the upper airway. The nasal passage regulates airflow, temperature, humidity, and microbial filtration[13]. Mouth breathing increases direct exposure of the nasopharyngeal mucosa to irritants andpathogens. This results in additional mechanical and immunological stress on the tissue. The increased stress may promoteInflammation and hypertrophy of adenoid tissue, secondary lymphoid organs central to mucosal immunity, which are rich inT cells andIgA - producingB cells[14]. As theAdenoids enlarge, they can obstruct airflow and worsen sleep quality by contributing to snoring or sleep-disordered breathing, while the reduced efficiency of nasal filtration continues to increase pathogen exposure[15]. Repeated stimulation from unconditioned airflow can sustain adenoid activation and enlargement, potentially creating a cycle of immune-driven chronic mouthbreathing[16].
The impact of chronic mouth breathing on health is a research area withinorthodontics (and the related field ofmyofunctional therapy)[17] andanthropology.[18] It is classified into three types: obstructive, habitual, and anatomic.[8]: 281
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.[19]
Nasal breathing producesnitric oxide within the body, while mouth breathing does not.[5][20][21] In addition, theBoston Medical Center notes that thenose filters out particles that enter the body, humidifies the air we breathe and warms it to body temperature.[22] 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".[22] As a result, chronic mouth breathing may lead to illness.[20][10][9][23][24]
Conditions associated with mouth breathing includecheilitis glandularis,[11]: 490 Down syndrome,[25]: 365 anterioropen bite,[12]: 225 tongue thrusting habit,[12]: 225 cerebral palsy,[26]: 422 ADHD,[27][28]sleep apnea,[29] andsnoring.[29] In addition,gingivitis,[12]: 85 gingival enlargement,[12]: 85 and increased levels ofdental plaque[12]: 108 are common in persons who chronically breathe through their mouths. The usual effect on the gums is sharply confined to the anterior maxillary region, especially the incisors (the upper teeth at the front). The appearance iserythematous (red),edematous (swollen) and shiny. This region receives the greatest exposure to airflow during mouth breathing, and it is thought that the inflammation and irritation is related to surface dehydration, but in animal experimentation, repeated air drying of the gums did not create such an appearance.[12]: 85
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.[30]
Chronic mouth breathing in children may affect dental and facial growth.[24] It may also lead to the development of a long, narrow face, sometimes termedlong face syndrome.[31] Conversely, it has been suggested that a long thin face type, with corresponding thin nasopharyngeal airway, predisposes to nasal obstruction and mouth breathing.[9]
George Catlin was a 19th-century American painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in theOld West. Travelling to theAmerican West five times during the 1830s, he wrote about, and painted portraits that depicted, the life of thePlains Indians.[32] He was also the author of several books, includingThe Breath of Life[33] (later retitled asShut Your Mouth and Save Your Life) in 1862.[34][35] It was based on his experiences traveling through the West, where he observed a consistent lifestyle habit among the Native American communities he encountered: a preference fornose breathing over mouth breathing. He also observed that they had perfectly straight teeth.[36] He repeatedly heard that this was because they believed that mouth breathing made an individual weak and caused disease, while nasal breathing made the body strong and prevented disease.[36] He also observed that mothers repeatedly closed the mouth of their infants while they were sleeping, to instill nasal breathing as a habit.[37]
Yogis such asB. K. S. Iyengar advocated both inhaling and exhaling through the nose in the practice ofyoga, rather than inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth,[38][39][40] using the phrase, "the nose is for breathing, the mouth is for eating."[38][39][41][42]
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.[43]
Lambs are noted to only switch to mouth breathing when the nasal passages are completely obstructed, withhypoxaemia having developed also as a result.[44]
^Stupak, Howard D.; Park, Steven Y. (2018). "Gravitational forces, negative pressure and facial structure in the genesis of airway dysfunction during sleep: a review of the paradigm".Sleep Medicine.51. Elsevier BV:125–132.doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2018.06.016.ISSN1389-9457.PMID30165336.S2CID52134548.
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