Mouth breathing refers to the act of breathing through the mouth if there is an obstruction to breathing through the nose, which is the designated breathing organ for the human body. Chronic mouth breathing is usually associated with illness. The pejorative use of the term "mouth-breather" within English slang reflects the fact that mouth breathing is linked with lower cognitive abilities due to decreased oxygen to the brain.
Etymology
In the early 20th century, "mouth-breather" was a technical term used by doctors to describe children who were breathing through their mouths due to an underlying medical condition. English lexicographer Jonathon Green notes that by 1915, the phrase "mouth-breather" had developed a pejorative connotation within English slang, used to describe a "stupid person." The Macmillan Dictionary defines the term "mouth breather" as "a stupid person."
Overview
Jason Turowski, MD of the Cleveland Clinic states that "we are designed to breathe through our noses from birth — it’s the way humans have evolved." Thus, the impact of chronic mouth breathing on health is a research area within orthodontics and anthropology. It is classified into three types: obstructive, habitual, and anatomic. Nasal breathing produces nitric oxide within the body, while mouth breathing does not. In addition, the Boston Medical Center notes that it is the job of the nose to filter out all of the particles that enter the body, as well as to humidify the air we breathe, add moisture to it, and warm it to body temperature. In contrast, however, mouth breathing “pulls all pollution and germs directly into the lungs; dry cold air in the lungs makes the secretions thick, slows the cleaning cilia, and slows down the passage of oxygen into the blood stream.” Thus, chronic mouth breathing usually leads to illness. In about 85% of cases, it is an adaptation to nasal congestion, and frequently occurs during sleep. More specialized causes include: antrochoanal polyps; a short upper lip which prevents the lips from meeting at rest ; and pregnancy rhinitis which tends to occur in the third trimester of pregnancy.
Potential effects
Conditions associated with mouth breathing include cheilitis glandularis, Down syndrome, anterior open bite, tongue thrusting habit, cerebral palsy, ADHD, sleep apnea, and snoring. In addition, Gingivitis, gingival enlargement, and increased levels of dental plaque are common in persons who chronically breathe through their mouths. The usual effect on the gums is sharply confined to the anterior maxillary region, especially the incisors. The appearance is erythematous, edematous and shiny. This region receives the greatest exposure to airflow during mouth breathing, and it is thought that the inflammation and irritation is related to surface dehydration, but in animal experimentation, repeated air drying of the gums did not create such an appearance. Chronic mouth breathing in children may affect dental and facial growth. It may also lead to the development of a long, narrow face, sometimes termed long face syndrome, when the mouth breathing is related to adenoid hypertrophy. Malocclusion of the teeth is also suggested to result from chronic mouth breathing in children. Conversely, it has been suggested that a long thin face type, with corresponding thin nasopharyngeal airway, predisposes to nasal obstruction and mouthbreathing, i.e., a long thin face may cause mouth breathing rather than the other way around. Facial form is also strongly influenced by genetic factors.
, studies and trials are underway that examine the possible benefits of nitric oxide in the treatment of Covid-19. This research is based on the fact that nitric oxide was investigated as an experimental therapy for SARS. Brian Strickland, MD, a fellow in Wilderness Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital who studies “acute respiratory distress” in high altitudes, is applying this research towards Covid-19. He is currently involved in clinical trials which apply the use of inhaled nitric oxide as a treatment for Covid-19. This approach was inspired by the work of Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Harvard Medical School N. Stuart Harris, who has been studying the effects of altitude sickness on mountain climbers, such as those who climb Mount Everest. Harris noticed that the consequences of high level altitude sickness on the human body mirrored Covid -19’s dysfunctional impact on the lungs. His focus on nitric oxide comes from its role in being able to breathe in high altitudes. According to WCVB-TV, similar trials are being conducted at Tufts Medical Center. Other studies speculate that replacing mouth breathing with nasal breathing is a “lifestyle change” that “may also help to reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral load and symptoms of COVID-19 pneumonia by promoting more efficient antiviral defense mechanisms in the respiratory tract.”
Exercise
Studies indicate that nasal breathing offers a greater advantage over mouth breathing during exercise.
Additional people and activities
George Catlin
was a 19th century American painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the Old West. Travelling to the American West five times during the 1830s, he wrote about, and painted portraits that depicted, the life of the Plains Indians. He was also the author of several books, including The Breath of Life in 1862. It was based on his experiences traveling through the West, where he observed a consistent lifestyle habit among the Native American communities he encountered: a preference for nose breathing over mouth breathing. He also observed that they had perfectly straight teeth. He repeatedly heard that this was because they believed that mouth breathing made an individual weak and caused disease, while nasal breathing made the body strong and prevented disease. He also observed that mothers repeatedly closed the mouth of their infants while they were sleeping, in order to instill nasal breathing as a habit.
Yoga
Yogis such as B. K. S. Iyengar advocate both inhaling and exhaling through the nose in the practice of yoga, rather than inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, using the phrase, "the nose is for breathing, the mouth is for eating."
