MyoBrace: Treatment For The Effects Of Mouth Breathing

Mouth breathing is exactly what the term implies: breathing through your mouth. Instead of inhaling and exhaling through your nose, you bypass all of its essential structures and move air directly from your mouth, down your throat and into your lungs. 

Your nose is not simply a physical feature on your face. Instead, it is perfectly designed for breathing. When you inhale through your nose, the air moves through the various structures and components within the nasal cavities to be warmed up or cooled down, filtered and humidified. Hence, it enters your lungs in the optimum state for exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Mouth breathing may be a bad habit developed over time or because you struggle to breathe through your nose. Inadequate nasal breathing can be caused by frequent respiratory infections, inflammation in the nasal passages (e.g. allergies or food intolerances), enlarged adenoids, or a deviated septum.

Mouth breathing can affect your health and well-being in numerous ways, including:

• Malformation of the facial bones
• Sleep disruption
• Sleep apnea
• Periodontal disease
• Speech impediments
• Forward head posture
• Reduced nitric oxide synthesis (occurs in the sinuses)
• Anxiety

A review study that examined the “Effects of mouth breathing on facial skeletal development in children” concluded that jaw underdevelopment could be caused by mouth breathing (1). The researchers observed the following changes in the structure of the face in children who breathe through their mouths:

• Long, narrow face
• Narrow mouth
• High, narrow palate
• Crooked teeth
• Dental malocclusion: Your upper and lower jaw are misaligned. 

At SHDC, we identify patients who are mouth breathers by assessing their tonsil size, soft tissues, and how they breathe through their nose. We look at whether their nose breathing is adequate and the degree of crowding in the teeth. We also look at structures such as the tongue to see whether they’re swallowing correctly or have any tongue or lip ties.

~ Dr Yin-Yin Teoh

Mouth breathing isn’t always apparent. You can determine if you or your child breathes through the mouth if you wake up in the morning with a dry mouth and bad breath or if your pillow is wet with drool. In children, mouth breathing can be associated with behaviour problems that present similarly to ADHD. 

With the appropriate treatment, ideally, before the child’s deciduous teeth are lost, the effects of mouth breathing can be reversed, and you can learn to breathe through your nose.

MyoBrace is a preventive pre-orthodontic treatment that addresses the underlying causes of crooked teeth, often without the need for braces, allowing for natural growth and development. All MyoBrace treatments at SHDC consist of two components: 

#1 MyoBrace Device

The first component is a series of dental aligners called MyoBrace, which comes in varying sizes and degrees of hardness. We prescribe the appropriate appliance for each patient and determine when the patient needs to progress to the next one. Patients usually wear the device for an hour during the day and overnight.

“The progression from one device to the next depends on the patient’s compliance and what their body development is capable of doing. So it’s a very fluid type of treatment.”

~ Dr Yin-Yin Teoh

#2 Myofunctional Exercises – Useful With MyoBrace

Myofunctional exercises are a workout for the muscles of your face. These are just as important as the wearing of the MyoBrace itself, as they help to correct incorrect orofacial myofunctional habits. They are done three times a day to support the effects of the MyoBrace device. They teach you to breathe effectively through your nose, strengthen tongue and lip muscles and promote correct swallowing habits.

“The myofunctional exercises are used to correct the habits that caused the problem in the first place, breathing through the mouth.”

~ Dr Yin-Yin Teoh