Audio Recording

Presenter: Trisha E. O'Hehir, RDH

Mouth breathing doesn't look good, but more importantly, it leads to long face syndrome, sleep disordered breathing, attention deficit disorder, daytime fatigue, and a reduction in oxygen absorption by at least 10 percent. Ankyloglossia, infant feeding, pacifier use, thumb sucking, and tongue rest position may all influence mouth breathing. A simple five-step screening process identifies factors affecting nasal breathing and three essential actions taken by dental professionals will help switch mouth breathers back to nasal breathing.