What is the best way to treat mouth breathing?👄

This is a question I get asked often and it's not one that I can give a standard answer for. Yes addressing nasal obstruction is important, yes expansion is beneficial, yes treating oral dysfunction and teaching proper oral rest posture is an excellent idea, tongue tie release? if necessary yes! Body work, uhu... But every patient presents with a unique situation and treatment will look different depending on multiple case specific factors!

That's why we need to look at each patient individually and holistically using a collaborative team approach to treatment.

Studies have shown that removing tonsils and adenoids to treat sleep apnea in kids is not always enough. Without the myofunctional therapy, mouth breathing persists. On a similar note, we know that performing a tongue tie release without assessing space in the palate, and tongue function can also result in underwhelming (or sometimes worse!) results. Every patient is unique and treatment will look different based on factors such as age, presentation, severity and functioning. What may be a great treatment plan for one person could be unbeneficial or even harmful for another. So my answer is... Taking an individual holistic team approach is key!

If you are concerned about mouth breathing reach out to a provider who can conduct a thorough functional assessment.

Still have Q's? Lemme know!

Zaghi, Soroush, et al. “Lingual Frenuloplasty with Myofunctional Therapy: Exploring Safety and Efficacy in 348 Cases.” Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology, vol. 4, no. 5, 2019, pp. 489–496., https://doi.org/10.1002/lio2.297.

Lee SY, Guilleminault C, Chiu HY, Sullivan SS. Mouth breathing, "nasal disuse," and pediatric sleep-disordered breathing. Sleep Breath. 2015 Dec;19(4):1257-64. doi: 10.1007/s11325-015-1154-6. Epub 2015 Apr 16. PMID: 25877805.

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