MOUTH BREATHINGCAUSES MISSHAPEN FACES

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19035, 2 April 1930, Page 13

MOUTH BREATHINGCAUSES MISSHAPEN FACES

One of the causes of the deformed face is mouth breathing. The original way of breathing was through the mouth, and that is one reason why it is so easy to fall into the habit of mouth breathing whenever the nose gets blocked by adenoids of a misshapen palate. Our noses are nine-tenths for breathing and only about one-tenth for smelling, so that by far the greater part of the nose is built on breathing lines. We know that no child ever breathes through his mouth by choice, and, like many other harmful habits, there was in the beginning some physical cause. Finding this cause saves the child from the lasting handicap of deformed features, weakened body and lowered resistance to disease. . before air is passed into the lungs, it is Nature’s purpose that the air be warmed, a process for which the nose passages are perfectly adapted. It is : also to be moistened, which is done by glandular secretions and tiny hairs which line the nostrils. When we breathe through the mouth, the air enters the lungs unfiltered, unmoistened and cold. < But this isn’t the entire damage that is done. The muscles of the face are pulled down so as to give it a drawnout appearance, a listless expression and a blank look. These, together with the open mouth, deformed jaws, lr- ■ regular or protruding teeth, are all signs that something is wrong. It has long been known that the re- • rnoval of adenoids for the cure of : mouth breathing is not always success- ] ful. In some instances, mouth breathing may be due to persistence in a : habit. It has been shown in a large * number of cases that it is due directly J to improper closure of the upper teeth J upon the lower with accompanying de- 5 formity of the roof of the mouth. The jaw bones as well as the bony 1 framework of the rest of the body are * subject to changes from forces exerted. ( Usually the forces result in normally - developed bone, but a weakness any- ’ where results in deformity. 1 Normally the teeth get as much pres- 1 sure from the cheek muscles as from ‘ those of the tongue. When the mouth J is used for breathing, the pressure of * the tongue upon the roof of the mouth ) is withdrawn, and hence the palate may remain narrow. The continual 1 pressure of the muscles holding the e mouth open changes the shape of the 1 jaws, and so forces the teeth out of ] line. f Adenoids being present, preventing * breathing through the nose, bring on 1 improper mastication which in turn 5 causes poor development of the jaws. c A child in whom breathing through , the nose is impossible cannot chew its : food well, for no child can bite and 1 chew its food properly while forced at ; the same time to breathe through its 1 mouth. S The result is a bolting of the food \ and a loss of normal stimulation to f teeth and gums through proper chew- f nig. * So if your child has the habit of mouth breathing, a specialist may find r adenoid growths. Their removal, however, will not always remove the r trouble. 1 They may be formed again if the laws are not widened by regulation of the teeth. When this is done the teeth t will be improved, the arches widened f, a nd the teeth will meet in their normal f position. {• Proper breathing will then take fc place, and the child will sleep well and a have a natural, normal expression on C his face. j-