Mouth breathing in teen
Can anyone suggest resources or treatment for a teen who mouth breathes? He also snores at night. I just learned that this can actually affect his face shape, teeth, and sleep. Can mouth breathing be corrected at this age? What type of health or para professional handles this and where do I start? I don’t believe this is a tonsils or allergy issue but I will contact his pediatrician anyway. Would appreciate stories from other parents who have helped their older child to breathe properly through their nose.
May 25, 2024
Parent Replies
A vocal coach told me how to prevent mouth breathing at night. Tape your mouth closed. I have been doing that ever since for about 15 years, with either a band-aid or surgical tape, and in a pinch scotch tape. Helps my voice issues.
My experience is stale as it is my own from 30 years ago. i was a snoring, mouth breather with an overbite and nasally voice. After consultation with an orthodontist, we went to an ENT (ear, nose throat) doctor and identified that I had enlarged adnoids. I had a tonsilectomy/adnoidectomy when I was 11, which was a simple surgery and was very helpful. My younger daughter has had 2 sets of tubes at ages 3 & 5. She's still quick to sound stuffy and seems to also have the enlarged adnoid problem. She goes to pediatric ENT Dr. SimmsEdwards in Berkeley/Walnut Creek who has been hesitant to pursue surgery just yet (she's only 8), but I imagine that may be recommended in a couple of years.
Hi. What a good observation about your teen. There can be a variety of health consequences, as you point out. I realized I had the same problem occasionally and went to see Lisa Bowen for breathing retraining and she was great. https://breathingretrainingcenter.com
She gave me great tools to help that I have used with myself and my teens. I highly recommend the trip to San Rafael.
My now young adult was a snorer from early on. He recently had a sleep study and turns out he has sleep apnea. You might want to ask your pediatrician for a sleep study. I wish I had taken it more seriously when he was younger!
My son's orthodontist recommended a myofunctional therapist for this. We ended up going for weekly sessions for maybe 6-8 weeks, and he did exercises at home. I think it was pretty helpful.
Nerissa Boggan was very knowledgeable and helpful for our son. Here is her info.
https://www.orofacialfitness.com/
Hello,
Good question. You're right that it can have long term consequences, and I was uneducated because there are new tools. The center of throught is Stanford's Sleep Medicine Center. The treatment we got was with Dr. Stacey Quo. https://www.orthoquo.com/meet-dr-quo. https://www.orthoquo.com/treating-sleep-apnea
It was life changing. My daughter needed Rapid Palatal Expander. The most important and time sensitive part is palate expansion. I tried other stuff, like tongue therapy, which is tedious, but your tongue doesn't do the right exercises until you structurally widen the palate. Dr. Quo fixed her, cross bite, over-bite, and also expanded here palate which needs to be done before age 16. At ages up 14, it can be expanded in 3 months. Dr. Quo did the research at UCSF, but just my daughters's experience.. it changed everything. She slept better, less sdhd b/c less congestion, fewer ear infections, and long term sleep apnea is terrible for you. Its's too late for me as an adult. but I would go back and do it. Otherwise, it gets worse with age, and your treatments chocies are not great when you're older.
I have a 16 year old who is also having an expander b/c he was sick during part 2. She does both. It's far, but she can do it with the initial visit, you turn the palate expander at home, and invisalign. My daughter's teeth were pretty bad, and it has changed the entire shape of her face for the better. And, she sleeps now, and bonus, it is aesthetically better. She is the GOAT orthodontist on this topic, and even if you chose to do it closer to home, getting the free consult would be worthwhile. Your mileage may vary, but we're 10 years into it with 2 kids who were complex, and I still think she is the best.