Mouth Breathing: A Menace to Developing Dentition

Purpose: To know the adverse effects of mouth breathing on developing dentition. Introduction: Mouth breathing as an oral habit is seldom discussed in detail and as a consequence has tended to be overlooked by dental professionals. There is a large controversy about the causal relations between dentofacial deformities and mouth breathing habits. A review of current data on the skeletofacial, dental and gingival changes that occur in mouth breathing individuals is given, with the intention of raising the awareness of dental professionals to the special needs of these patients. Materials and methods: This review article is formulated based on the available literature online. A thorough search was made on the pubmed and other reliable sources and then this review is formed. Conclusion: Some postural and morphological changes during long-term adaptation to oral respiration are evoked: opening of the bite with a lowered postural position of the mandible, reduction of upper arch width, downward and backward rotation of the mandible, increased lower facial height and changes in the inclination of the lower and upper incisors.