Mouth Breathing
Breathing provides your body with the oxygen it needs to survive. It also allows you to release carbon dioxide and waste. However, too much mouth breathing can cause crooked teeth, facial abnormalities, poor growth, gum disease and chronic bad breath. In adults, mouth breathing can also be an indication of sleep disorders which have serious, often silent causes, to our overall health.
The advantages of breathing through your nose are:
- The nose acts as a filter and retains small particles in the air, including pollen.
- The nose adds moisture to the air to prevent dryness in the lungs and bronchial tubes.
- The nose warms up cold air to body temperature before it gets to your lungs.
- Nose breathing adds resistance to the air stream. This increases oxygen uptake by maintaining the lungs’ elasticity.
Please be aware that mouth breathing is NEVER okay.
It is often essential when we are sick or teething but that is because our body is compensating. It is very stressful to the body when mouth breathing has become it's normal state of breathing. The good news, it's NEVER too late to correct it! Contact us today for your evaluation and get started on a healthy version of you and/or your child!