ADHD and mouth breathing

amother

Nasturtium

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 10:33 pm

amother Seafoam wrote:

Thanks for this info. My 3 year old probably has a high palate (certainly looks so to me) and she's the only one of my kids who had and still has a bibs pacifier. My first few sucked fingers (not thumb) and my baby now uses the tommee tippee one which is flatter in shape so I hope it's better.
Yes we're preparing her to give up her pacifier, she has it only in bed, but it really soothes her.
You say that if we go to an orthodontist before age 6 it can still be corrected?
Dh has a high palate too so I think some of it is hereditary as well even though none of my other kids seem to have a high palate (from what I can tell).
But some of my other kids are mouth breathers. The one child who I thought wasn't a mouth breather, I asked him over shabbos where he breathes from and he said his mouth! I was so surprised.
Are there any YouTube exercises or what that I can do with my older kids to attempt the mouth breathing issue? I don't think it's affecting them much right now, besides for it looking funny that they sleep with an open mouth. But this thread is making it seem like they will have medical issues down the line if not corrected.

The goal is to get the palate expander any time from when the 6 year old molars come in, up until the body matures and the facial structure stops growing. Once that happens, it would be too late, and a surgical procedure would need to be performed to break the palate. Getting a palate expander in 2nd grade, or sometimes even younger, can oftentimes prevent the need for braces and tooth extractions of teeth that don't fit. Once the palate is widened, the tongue fits comfortably in the mouth, and the airway has more space.
Most people with high narrow palates have an 'open mouth' posture all the time. It's not just at night. They kind of look like they always have a cold. When I have a cold and a stuffed nose, I try to bottle that feeling so I can relate to my clients who always feel that 'clogged' sensation. I have a harder time sleeping and functioning by day. It is not hard to see why it would mimic ADHD.
There is also research that mouth breathers have a higher incidence of dental issues and illness. The reason is that the small hairs in the nose filter out the air we breath. Mouth breathers inhale air that didn't get that purification, oftentimes affecting the teeth and health.
In regard to You Yube videos with exercises, there are plenty. One ofy favorites is keeping a strip of an index card between the lips for increased periods of time. These type of exercises work nicely for clients who have no structural issues. The kids who are breathing through their mouths because the airway is too small are not able to keep thier lips closed for prolonged periods of time unless structural changes occur.