Mouth Breathing in Pediatric Population: A Literature Review

Introduction: Breathing is a vital function of the human body, usually carried out
through the nose. Breathing through the mouth instead of through the nose is considered
an abnormal breathing habit. Mouth breathing refers to the state of inhaling and
exhaling through the mouth. Mouth breathing is also an etiological factor for respiratory
distress during childhood sleep. Both habit and obstruction can lead to facial muscle
imbalance and craniofacial changes. Objective: This article aims to review the basics of
mouth breathing. Method: The search was carried out using online databases from
Google Scholar and Pubmed. Articles included were articles published from 2014 to
2021. The keywords and terms used for the search for the article were as follows: mouth
breathing ‖,― mouth breathing syndrome ‖,― mouth breathing in children ‖,― Children ‖ ,
―Pediatrics‖. Results: There were 19 articles that discussed matters related to the
introduction of mouth breathing in children Conclusion: Mouth breathing can be
categorized into 3 types based on the etiology. The etiology and risk factors for mouth
breathing are nasal obstruction, adenoids, and children who are not exclusively
breastfed. Mouth breathing is characterized by many symptoms, some of which are
class II relations, maxillary incisor protrusion, long face and others. This habit is
diagnosed through a comprehensive history and several tests. The management
generally includes the use of oral screens and may also be surgical to correct the cause
of the obstruction.