Mouth Breathers

There are a number of problems with habitual mouth-breathing (see below) but the problems relating directly to teeth are as follows:
 

• Teeth lie in what is called the NEUTRAL ZONE where the average pressure from the tongue and lips are equal. Often patients with open bites have their lips apart and this contributes to relapse, since the teeth are pushed forward and apart.
   
• As soon as the lips part, the tongue drops down from the palate. The tongue in fact forms and supports the shape of the palate but in mouth-breathers the tongue isn’t supporting the palate so the cheek muscles push the back teeth inwards, creating a narrow upper arch and high palate.
   
• Mouth breathers tip their heads backwards, to maintain an open airway and this is thought to contribute to the development of the malocclusions associated with the Long Face Syndrome and Adenoidal Facies appearance.
  
  An essential exercise for mouth breathers is called LIP-PEN where for an hour a day, while watching TV or reading you hold a pen (sideways) between your lips to ensure nose-breathing and strengthen the lip muscles.