In my dental world as an orofacial myologist and an oral health therapist, I am fortunate to examine, treat and advise folks of all ages…from the little kiddos and those of us who are ‘more mature’! The parallels that form and function have on growth and development never cease to amaze me. It is rare that every aspect is perfect. However, the effects on health outcomes with appropriate intervention can be life-changing.
I always knew that I had difficulty with breathing through my nose….but until recently when I really studied a bunch of pictures that my dad sent my way, did it dawn on me just how early in life my (destructive) mouth breathing habits started. I also got to ask dad some questions about my childhood, and found out some interesting pieces of information to add to the puzzle.
Now, anyone who knows my dad would agree that he’s a guy with a great memory, and for someone who was busy carving out a career in the middle of last century (now doesn’t that sound weird to say), he has very good recall of what was happening in our lives at the time. I would imagine that many dads of that era would deflect these questions to the mother of the family who took care of most of the ongoing day to day health issues of the five kids with an ‘I don’t know you had better ask your mother’ kind of answer. But not my dad!
What I know now after a bit of reflective study is this….
I was always a mouth breather ( but why?)
I had trouble eating with my mouth closed, and I was constantly told ‘eat with my mouth closed’!
(Hey folks its hard to eat and breathe at the same time!)
My parents consulted a Dr. when I was 7 however he said, ‘no need to take those tonsils out’. ☹
I always had my mouth open! I was also constantly told ‘close your mouth’ (but didn’t anyone know I was just trying to breathe!).
I was pretty shy, had terrible posture; rounded shoulders and head forward. (you guessed it…because I was trying to breathe!)
We moved towns when I was 8 and I had my tonsils and adenoids out at the age of 10…..and finally the nose could breathe sufficiently, and the mouth could close (and I know that because the ‘close your mouth’ requests stopped at last! On reflection, the back brace I had to wear to ‘straighten me up’ in 5th grade was probably a result of me trying to breathe.
When you have a breathing restriction it is so much easier to mouth breathe when your head is tilted forward and the shoulders are rounded.
By Grade 6 I had ‘come out of my shell’ and begun to enjoy life. My schoolwork improved as my health and quality of life improved. Did you know that nasal breathing floods the body with goodies (like Nitrous Oxide) and delivers a much better quality of oxygen supply? More on this oxygen improvement in another post though!
However, the years of mouth breathing meant I had a compromised occlusion (teeth were out of alignment) and I required braces. Orthodontic work was not very common back in the ’70s, and at 14 I had to travel to Sydney every 4 weeks for an orthodontic visit (and an overnight stay with my grandparents!) 😊 I’m totally grateful for that because I had a lovely team looking after me and it gave me a wonderful introduction to dentistry and planted a seed of interest and….hence my career began.
Expanding the palate (palatal expansion) was not ‘in vogue’ back then (it WAS a long time ago), and despite the orthodontic work, I retained a high and narrow upper palate …and a compromised nasal airway.
I loved sport (cross country running, netball and basketball), and played basketball right up until I turned 40 when I broke my leg. For all that time I had a terrible aerobic capacity and despite being fit, ran out of ‘puff’ very quickly. The harder I tried to breathe through my nose the more the airway collapsed! I can’t run these days (dodgy leg), but I now have ways (and a whole lot more knowledge) to open the airway while I exercise and sleep at night to ensure I get the right amount of Nitric Oxide enriched oxygen to MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE to my health!!!
For most of us, life is a journey of twists and turns, discovery and learning. I’m so glad that there is an understanding these days on the impacts that childhood habits, physical restrictions and developmental idiosyncrasies can have in the long term. Steps can be taken to rectify and retrain, to refer and renew the potential for optimal health status.
Children who mouth breath do it for a reason and mouth-breathing kids don’t grow out of things; they grow into adults with bigger issues and more complex health concerns!
We know so much more these days, and I love contributing to health optimization of others. It is never too early (trust me😉) and never too late!
