A Texas mother is urging parents to be aware of a common breathing habit that could have lifelong consequences for their children.
Soshanna Deyette of Austin endured years of misdiagnoses from doctors struggling to figure out what was behind her son’s seemingly unrelated symptoms.
Tab had been mute until he was in kindergarten, barely sleeping and displaying outbursts of erratic behavior.
Ms Deyette suspected autism and one doctor diagnosed Tab, now seven, with attention deficit disorder (ADHD). Another doctor suggested it was all in his head.
It wasn’t until Ms. Deyette was referred to a specialist that the family finally had answers: Tab was “a mouth breather.”
Soshanna Deyette’s son Tab finally received a diagnosis and treatment when doctors noticed he had an underdeveloped jaw (left). Pictured right, he is shown after treatment.
The doctor noticed that Tab had poorly defined cheekbones, a receding jaw and a sunken chin, all characteristic signs of chronic mouth breathing.
It occurs when a person takes in oxygen primarily through their mouth rather than their nose. Six out of ten Americans do this.
But it can have devastating consequences for developing children because it limits the amount of oxygen the body can absorb and use to grow.
It also limits the amount of oxygen reaching the brain, which can delay neurological development.
If severe enough, mouth breathing also makes it difficult to sleep, which is crucial in the early stages of a child’s growth.
The airways narrow, causing snoring, snorting, or waking up suddenly.
Ms Deyette said: ‘Not even during the first year of his life did I realise anything was wrong.
‘But in retrospect, when I look at videos and photographs, I always had some level of respiratory congestion that I assumed was mucus and that was why I couldn’t breathe at night.
“His mouth was always open. In all his videos you can hear that snorting, that gurgling… like his airways were trying to breathe.”
Mouth breathing can change the position of the tongue, which is important for facial growth.
If left untreated, children may develop flatter faces, less prominent cheekbones, and more droopy eyes.
They may also have lower facial muscle tone and wider dental arches.
Mouth breathing can also cause dry mouth, which can reduce saliva and increase the risk of cavities and gingivitis.
Between 10 and half of children suffer from the condition, with varying degrees of severity. Most outgrow it, according to a report by the National Library of Medicine.
At 18 months, Ms. Deyette noticed Tab was not talking much, had disengaged behavior and “congestion, open-mouth breathing and snoring.”
Her son’s snoring could be heard through a closed door and through a stereo in the children’s bedroom and a television in the living room.
By the age of two and a half he was barely speaking and was receiving speech therapy.
Ms Deyette said: “I took him back to hospital and had him tested for autism. I wanted answers about what was wrong with my son.
‘He was in this ‘La La Land’, in his own world and very disconnected from everything.
“I asked our pediatrician and I remember she took the scope, looked in the mouth and saw nothing. There were no blockages.”
Tab’s snoring could be heard through a closed door and through a stereo and television.
Ms. Deyette took her son to speech therapy and to have him tested for autism.
After a change of primary care physician, Ms. Deyette was referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist, who said Tab was suffering from a double ear infection.
He was told that his adenoids (small glands behind the nose) were covering 90 percent of his nasal airways and preventing him from breathing through his nose.
After the adenoids were removed, her symptoms improved, but that was only part of the problem.
Ms Deyette described Tab’s transformation as an “explosion of words” as his speech improved and his dancing and childlike behaviour increased.
But it wasn’t long before the little boy’s symptoms returned, albeit much milder than before.
Ms Deyette shared in an Instagram post: ‘His breathing was still laboured. His snoring returned.
‘He had constant respiratory illnesses over the years.’
The damage done to Tab’s facial structure by years of poor breathing was still taking its toll.
Working with a dental team, the family was prescribed a device similar to a mouthguard used in sports that forces the tongue to work properly against the palate, thus forcing people to breathe through their nose.
Known as ToothPillow, it ‘helps guide natural growth and development, mitigating the damaging effects of modern life on the mouth, jaws and airways.’
So far, the ToothPillow device has only been shown to be effective for those still in their formative years, between the ages of 3 and 12. People outside that age range should look for alternative methods.
Eventually, Tab was given a mouthguard-like device to help his tongue position itself correctly in his mouth.
Known as the ToothPillow, the device ‘helps guide natural growth and development, mitigating the damaging effects of modern life on their mouths, jaws and airways.’
In addition to the ToothPillow, chronic mouth breathers may seek out myofunctional therapy to help strengthen the tongue and orofacial muscles, teaching the muscles to assume the proper position, in turn encouraging nasal breathing, a healthier option.
There are multiple reasons why a child might resort to mouth breathing instead of nose breathing, but one possible explanation given by experts is a soft diet in the early years of life.
An early soft diet prevents muscle fibre growth, weakening the tongue and affecting oral development. This leads to further crowding of permanent teeth, according to research by dentist Dr James Sim Wallace.
Four hundred years ago there were no underdeveloped jaws or crowded teeth.
Traditionally, breastfeeding was followed by a diet of hard foods, which led to perfectly formed upper and lower jaws.
Today, however, it is common for developing children to consume a soft diet, resorting to bottle feeding, pacifiers, soft baby foods, and a reduced duration of breastfeeding.
And by not allowing the jaw to fully form, children may begin to breathe through their mouth.
Research has also linked mouth breathing in children with an increased risk of ADHD, bedwetting, tonsillitis, adenoids, asthma, and allergies.
