Is your Child a Mouth Breather

is your child a mouth breatherScotts Valley and Santa Cruz, CA

Experts agree that if you can see or hear your child breathing, there’s a problem. Have you ever stopped to notice whether you can see or hear your child breathing? If you haven’t, you should. If, on the other hand, you already are aware of their breathing habits, the airway specialists in Scotts Valley at Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry want you to know the dangers of mouth-breathing and how we can help!

Why seeing or hearing your child breathe is dangerous

Seeing or hearing something that should be silent, such as breathing, is a sign of a serious airway disorder or obstructed airway. In short, this means that your child is not receiving enough air. To our bodies, air is as essential as food, water, and sleep. If we skimp on any of these necessities, our bodies inevitably suffer. An airway obstruction often is present for children who snore and have sleep apnea, jaw malformation, a bad bite, sleep-deprived children, and in those that have attention-deficit or hyperactivity disorders such as ADD or ADHD, all of which may be linked to mouth-breathing.

How does an obstructive airway affect my child?

When a child’s airway is obstructed, they simply are not breathing in enough air. In short, mouth-breathing can lead to a lifelong struggle with inflammatory diseases such as an increased risk of stroke, heart disease, and diabetes among a few. Their development also is affected.

Is it ADD/ADHD or something else?

Mouth breathing leads to a decreased amount of oxygen in the blood, and it often is linked to obstructive sleep apnea, which causes the brain to awaken slightly while sleeping. In turn, this disrupts the child’s sleep, and instead of making them feel tired throughout the day, they actually end up being hyperactive or have difficulty paying attention and staying focused especially while in school. Unfortunately, there are many children being medicated for these type of behavioral disorders when in fact the problem is their airway!

How can I tell if my child is a mouth-breather?

If you can see or hear your child breathe, this is an indication that they are a mouth-breather or have an obstructive airway of sorts. However, there also are other physical signs such as crooked or crowded teeth, lower lip hanging open all of the time, chronic allergies, and a flat profile from cheek to neck whereas there is little to no tone or distinction between their chin and their neck. Also, slow growth could be a sign of an airway problem. The best way, however, to tell if your child has a mouth breathing problem is to have them receive an airway evaluation in Scotts Valley at Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry.

What’s causing my child to mouth-breathe?

Mouth breathing can occur as a result of a narrow upper palate. Part of the problem is the western diet of soft foods following breast or bottle-feeding. Babies are designed to go right into eating solids food after weaning from the breast or bottle. Soft foods such as the kind marketed as “baby food,” does not allow a baby to work the muscles of mastication that results in a wider upper palate and upper airway.

The sooner we can correct the airway problem the better. A child should be able to grow and develop normally with plenty of quality sleep and oxygen that is necessary for their growth and development.

Pediatric Airway Evaluation in Scotts Valley

If you would like to learn more about this topic or have your child’s airway evaluated by sleep specialists in Scotts Valley, please call Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry at (831) 438-4411 to schedule a consultation to learn more about our services.

Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry is proud to care for patients located in the California communities of Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, and Scotts Valley.