It is quite common for parents to overlook minor stunted developments in case of their children, banking on the fact that it will get better once they get older. Unfortunately, when it comes to dental problems, breathing health and posture of the craniofacial muscles, it only gets worse as they grow up. It has been statistically proven that nearly 90% of a child’s facial development is done by the age of 12 years. It is especially important to make regular visits to a dentist at this tender age because any malformations and abnormalities in the facial development get easily detected by the professionals, leading to immediate rectification.
There is a disputable and rather delicate relation between dental arches and the ability to breathe accurately. As is popularly known, all craniofacial developments are a result of the growth of individual bones present in the face. An imbalanced growth might lead to malocclusion, which is a misalignment of the teeth which is visible each time the jaws come close. If the child is duly taken to a dental health professional, this condition can be treated with the help of dental aligners. If neglected, the child may succumb to breathing from the mouth, instead of the nose, which is a severe drawback for airway health.
If the child starts breathing involuntarily and easily through the mouth, it starts to impact the way their face will look as they get older. The lower jaw gets pushed forward by the tongue in case of mouth-breathers, forcing it to grow more vertically and finally resulting in skeletal as well as dental malformations in the child. With the use of orthotropic treatment, dentists are able to guide the growth of facial bones and remedying malocclusion. By creating more space between teeth and tongue, there is an improved airway environment for the child, allowing them to turn in nose-breathers.
Along with the stunted facial development and degraded airway health, breathing through the mouth causes other dental problems too. As the saliva dries out, there are higher chances of having bad breath, tooth decay and increased cavities in the child. Dentists may use braces to correct the unequal of teeth and some facial exercises which is simulate breathing through the nose.
Another serious issue that concerns the dental health professionals is sleep apnea. While sleeping, the child may involuntarily start breathing from the mouth giving rise to this disorder where breathing abruptly starts and stops. What sounds like peaceful sleeping with snores might lead to a severe issue of sleep apnea syndrome. This needs to be corrected at the beginning stage when the individual is a child because in case of adults, this becomes difficult to cure. Dentists recommend the use of assisted breathing appliances like continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to cure sleep apnea in adults. In case of case of children, it can be treated much easily without disrupting their sleeping pattern.
Chronic mouth-breathers have disproportionate lip, cheek and tongue muscle activity. Although this problem may go easily unnoticed as it is very subtle in case of children, it has lasting adverse health issues. Delayed craniofacial development, sleeping disorders and sudden behavioral interruptions are some of the examples.
It is not advised to try to correct such dental distress by oneself, visiting a dentist of always recommended. A normal airway health is regulated by perpetual nose breathing with a closed mouth, it is not only a prerequisite for a wholesome facial development, but also essential for good health.