It is said that long-term sleep with the mouth open, or play cell phones, watch TV when unconsciously appear open mouth action, easy to lead to mouth protrusion, facial deformation. Scared the little ones around now pay attention to their mouths at all times …… So, is this statement in the end correct? In this regard, I specially consulted the Department of Oral Craniomaxillofacial Department of the Ninth People’s Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Dr. Lu Xiaofeng, director. Director Lu told us: long-term open-mouth breathing will indeed lead to ugly face! In fact, many people mistakenly think that sleeping with open mouth breathing is normal and unconscious behavior, but they do not know that long-term open mouth breathing will not only bring about physiological and jaw morphological changes, but also indicate the appearance of some kind of disease in the body. If we do not pay attention to ourselves or our parents, once the children have developed the habit of sleeping with their mouths open, then the biggest and most intuitive danger is the gradual formation of adenoid face during our growth process, and once formed, it is difficult to recover on its own. 1.What is adenoid face? Nasal breathing is the normal breathing pattern of a person. When open mouth breathing, due to the change of airflow and jaw position, it will cause a series of changes in the jaw and face, forming a specific dental and jaw facial deformity (commonly known as adenoid face): patients with small nose, upper lip upward, lower lip outward, upper front teeth protrusion, crowded teeth, high arch of palate cover, lower jaw receding face becomes long or crescent face ground. 2.What exactly causes open mouth breathing and adenoid face? Director Lu told us that open-mouth breathing can be divided into two categories: one is obstructive open-mouth breathing, which is common in children with adenoid or tonsillar hypertrophy and adults with sleep apnea; the other is habitual open-mouth breathing. Adenoid hypertrophy and sleep breathing disorders in children Adenoid hypertrophy in children is more common in clinical practice. Generally speaking, the adenoids are largest when we are 6 or 7 years old, and then they begin to gradually degenerate and shrink, and most people’s adenoids shrink in adulthood, and the low immunity in childhood makes them susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections. The adenoids and tonsils are the same as the adenoids. Obstruction of the upper airway by the adenoids and tonsils can cause sleep disorders in children, which can lead to physical and neuropsychiatric developmental disorders, usually characterized by poor growth, hyperactivity, difficulty concentrating, poor learning, and irritability. It can also cause adenoid facies due to open mouth breathing, which can affect the appearance. Adult obstructive sleep apnea Adult open mouth breathing is usually a manifestation of obstructive sleep apnea, which is caused by narrowing or obstruction in one or more places in the upper airway, forcing the respiratory stream to go from the mouth, and these people are basically accompanied by snoring and sleep apnea, and further treatment requires a visit to a sleep center for sleep monitoring and assessment of the upper airway. 3.How can you tell if you have habitual open-mouth breathing? Or is it obstructive open-mouth breathing? Pursing test Help the patient to gently purse her upper and lower lips while she is sleeping to see if she can continue to sleep. ▲ If you can continue to sleep, then it is habitual open mouth breathing. ▲ If you will wake up after pursing your lips, then there is an obstruction in the oropharynx and above airway. 4. How to correct mouth breathing and adenoidal facies? The earlier the treatment, the easier it is and the less traumatic it is. For children with adenoid or tonsillar hypertrophy, medical experts from the Department of Oral Craniofacial Surgery advocate a multidisciplinary treatment sequence: treating adenoid or tonsillar hypertrophy first, then going to the Department of Orthodontics for mouth breathing and adenoid facies correction. Correction can usually be obtained with non-surgical orthodontic methods if detected and intervened in childhood or adolescence, but delayed until late adolescence or adulthood, orthognathic surgery in oral and maxillofacial surgery is mostly required to achieve satisfactory results.