Effects of Mouth breathing on faces of children & adolescents

Mouth breathing is a habit when breathing if preferred through mouth instead of nose. This hampers all the functions of nasal breathing and affects the faces of growing children.

The facial features observed are-

• Long and narrow face
• Increase in nose to chin distance called as the lower anterior facial height
• Less forward growth of upper and lower jaw
• Backward and downward swing of lower jaw

Mouth breathing habit should be left as soon as possible to prevent its deleterious effects on growth of jaws and faces.