Children and adults who primarily mouth-breathe, rather than nose-breathe, experience significant changes to their facial structure.
The book "Jaws: A Hidden Epidemic" by Sandra Kahn and Paul Erlich discusses this extensively, featuring contributions by notable authors like Jared Diamond and Robert Sapolsky.
Impacts of Mouth Breathing
Aesthetic Changes: Habitual mouth breathing can lead to less attractive facial features, with the chin receding towards the neck and droopy eyes.
Health Concerns: Mouth breathing reduces oxygen intake and negatively impacts sinus function, increasing susceptibility to infections.
Importance of Nasal Breathing
Nasal breathing provides better oxygenation, enhances sinus function, and filters out pathogens through the nasal microbiome.
Encourages better craniofacial development and overall aesthetics, particularly if habits change from mouth to nasal breathing.
Role of Chewing in Development
Chewing Hard Foods: Critical for the development of the teeth, mouth, and overall face structure. Encourages stronger jaw muscles and better tooth health.
Soft Foods and Modern Diets: Overconsumption of soft foods leads to less developed facial structures and a higher likelihood of needing orthodontia.
Orthodontia and its Link to Modern Behaviors
Orthodontia: The prevalence of braces, retainers, and such treatments are partly a byproduct of poor breathing habits and lack of hard food consumption.
Treatment Methods: Techniques like the Mew method advocate for recovery of proper craniofacial structure by emphasizing nasal breathing and proper chewing habits.
Restoring Craniofacial Development
Recoverability: Facial structures can improve by adopting better breathing and eating techniques across the lifespan.
Practical Advice: Deliberative nasal breathing practices during rest and exercise, chewing tougher food for stronger development, and limiting soft foods in diet.
Practical Takeaways
Daily Habits: Practice nasal breathing, especially at rest. Use mouth taping at night if necessary to encourage this behavior during sleep.
Diet Adjustments: Integrate more hard and coarse foods into the diet to stimulate proper jaw and tooth development.
Active Exercise: Use cardiovascular exercise to promote nasal breathing, especially through techniques that challenge sinus pathways.
Literature and Expert Endorsements
The book “Jaws: A Hidden Epidemic” brings together experts in craniofacial structure and human health to document these findings and offer practical solutions.
Authors and Contributors: Sandra Kahn (craniofacial expert), Paul Erlich, with introductory contributions by Jared Diamond and Robert Sapolsky, validate the content with a solid scientific foundation.
final thoughts
Modern Lifestyles: Modern eating and breathing habits significantly affect facial aesthetics and health, but these can be modified with conscious effort.
Community and Parental Role: Parents should encourage nasal breathing and proper chewing habits in their children to ensure healthy craniofacial development.