Will frequent mouth breathing make people ugly?! Can the popular "mouth-closing patch" correct it? Doctors urgently remind us →

Author: Yu Min, attending physician of orthodontics department, Peking University Stomatological Hospital

Reviewer: Xuemei Gao, Chief Physician of Orthodontics Department, Peking University Hospital of Stomatology

Dong Xiaosong, Chief Physician, Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Peking University People's Hospital

Pan Chunchen, deputy chief physician of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China

gossip

Some people breathe through their noses, some through their mouths, and some through both their noses and mouths. Have you ever noticed which way you breathe? There are many rumors that "mouth breathing will lead to 'adenoid facies', making people ugly", and there are even rumors that "closing your mouth with a patch can cure mouth breathing problems".

So, what exactly is "adenoid facies"? Does long-term mouth breathing really lead to "adenoid facies" and affect one's appearance? Are the mouth-closing stickers that are circulated online really useful?

analyze

Let me give you the answer first:

1. Long-term mouth breathing does not necessarily lead to "adenoid facies", but it is possible for children in the growth and development period. In addition, open mouth breathing ≠ mouth breathing.

2. The mouth-closing patch simply and roughly sticks a person's mouth shut. It cannot fundamentally solve the problem of people's nasal breathing obstruction, and therefore cannot cure the problem of mouth breathing.

It should be noted that if the mouth-shutting patch is used improperly, it may backfire and may even cause suffocation due to lack of oxygen.

What is "adenoid facies"?

To understand what “adenoid facies” is, we need to first understand adenoids.

Adenoids are normal lymphatic tissue in the human body. They exist at birth and generally increase in size with age, reaching a peak between the ages of 3 and 7, and then begin to gradually shrink.

Image source: provided by the author

The adenoids are located in the airway at the back of the nose. They are the first gateway for children to come into contact with inhaled exogenous substances (such as allergens such as dust mites and pollen, or pathogens such as viruses and bacteria). Under repeated stimulation, the adenoids will become inflamed and show signs of hyperplasia and hypertrophy.

The characteristics of adenoid facies include elongated maxilla, retruded mandible, high arched hard palate, uneven and protruding teeth, and thick lips. Image source: UTD

"Adenoid faces" usually refers to the obstruction of nasal breathing due to excessive hypertrophy of the adenoids, forcing the child to breathe through the mouth.

If the child breathes with his mouth open for a long time, his facial features will be pulled by some abnormal force, and the facial bones and muscles may become deformed. The most typical manifestation is that the face becomes longer, the mouth is open, the hard palate is high and narrow, and the teeth are protruding and unevenly arranged.

Mouth breathing = mouth breathing?

When the human body breathes normally, most of the airflow passes through the nasal cavity, which is normal breathing. When the airflow passes through the mouth and exceeds a certain proportion (usually 25% to 30%), it is mouth breathing.

In other words, mouth breathing does not equal mouth breathing. Only when the ratio of mouth and nose breathing exceeds a certain critical value can it be identified as mouth breathing.

Depending on the cause, mouth breathing can be roughly divided into pathological and habitual. The causes of pathological mouth breathing are varied. In addition to the adenoids hypertrophy mentioned above, there are also other nasopharyngeal diseases such as chronic rhinitis and nasal concha hypertrophy, which make it difficult to breathe through the nose and force people to breathe through the mouth.

Habitual mouth breathing refers to a bad habit caused by a previous nasal obstruction. The mouth breathing habit still exists after the disease is cured. Long-term mouth breathing will cause people's lip muscle strength to be insufficient and difficulty closing the lips. Even if the cause of nasal obstruction is removed, patients often cannot automatically improve mouth breathing.

How do you determine if you have a mouth breathing problem? You can use the "double-sided mirror method" to do a simple self-test:

Place a two-sided mirror that is below room temperature between your nostrils and lips and observe the lenses. If the upper lens is foggy, it means you are breathing through your nose; if the lower lens is foggy, it means you are breathing through your mouth.

Image source: Reference [4]

Will mouth breathing definitely lead to “adenoid facies”?

uncertain.

In principle, long-term mouth breathing may affect a child's facial appearance. For example, it may cause an imbalance in the pressure between the oral cavity and the nasal cavity, making it easier for problems such as malocclusion and deformity of the teeth to develop, thereby affecting the development of facial muscles. However, it is still unknown how long this process will take and how it will affect the child. In addition, mouth breathing does not necessarily lead to "adenoid facies", and facial malocclusion does not necessarily mean that it is caused by mouth breathing.

The development of the human maxillofacial system and its final appearance are mainly determined by genetic factors and environmental factors. Environmental factors include congenital factors (maternal, fetal, developmental disorders and defects) and acquired factors (systemic diseases, local disorders during the deciduous dentition period, functional factors and bad oral habits). Facial dysplasia caused by nasal obstruction diseases such as adenoids belongs to the latter, that is, environmental factors.

Copyrighted stock images, no reproduction is authorized

Do shut up stickers really work?

It is useless and there are health risks if used improperly.

The mouth-closing sticker uses tape to forcefully stick the upper and lower lips of a person together to prevent the person from opening their mouth to breathe. This method does solve the problem of opening the mouth, but it cannot fundamentally solve the problem of people's nasal breathing obstruction, nor does it really change people's mouth breathing habits, so it cannot solve the fundamental problem of mouth breathing.

In addition, it should be noted that if the mouth-closing patch is used improperly, it may backfire. For example, it may affect the user's sleep quality, or cause hypoxia, apnea, and even suffocation in severe cases.

Image source: Search results on a shopping platform using the keyword "mouth breathing correction patch"

in conclusion

If you suspect that you have mouth breathing, you must not rush to seek medical treatment or blindly believe in folk remedies. Instead, you should go to a professional hospital for examination and confirmation as soon as possible, and then follow the doctor's guidance for targeted diagnosis and treatment based on the cause of the disease, the stage of growth and development, and the impact on facial development.

For example, maxillary widening, mandibular advancement, muscle function training or observation, etc. Timely diagnosis and treatment can return our growth and development to the "normal track" determined by genetic factors and improve respiratory function.

References:

[1] Gao Xuemei. Sleep-disordered breathing in children and oral medical treatment[J]. West China Journal of Stomatology, doi:10.7518/hxkq.2014.04.001.

[2] Yang Kai, Zeng Xianglong, Yu Mengsun. Study on the differences in craniofacial morphology between mouth-breathing and nasal-breathing children[J]. Chinese Journal of Stomatology, 2002(5):385-387.

[3] YUM, MAY, XUY, etal. Orthodontic appliances for the treatment of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea: Systematic review and network meta-analysis [J]. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2023, 72: 101855. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2023.101855.

[4] Zeng Xianglong, Gao Xuemei, Diagnosis and treatment of mouth breathing in children, Chinese Journal of Stomatology, 2020.55(1):3-8

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