mouth breathing at night

[annasmom]

Does mouth breathing contribute to caries? I thought I read that somewhere and it has something to do with the dryness of the mouth. Anyone know more about this?

[deditus]

Yes, it does. Teeth remineralize when they are bathed in saliva. If you are a mouth breather, then obviously this doesn't happen.

[JaneS]

Also the width of the palate, shape of the face, and ability to have enough room for all your teeth to grow in straight.

A closed mouth causes the tongue to apply suction to the roof of the mouth as you breathe, encouraging a wide palate.

Also it can contribute to bed wetting too, as the neurotransmitters are not produced that allow the child to sleep deeply enough, thus not triggering the anti diuretic hormone.

[annasmom]

stopping the mouthbreathing

so, I've given her a homeopathic remedy and removed a possible allergen from her diet and there has been some improvement. In her carseat she seems to have no problem sleeping with mouth closed, but lying down at night is more difficult. She goes back and forth and most times when she inhales through her nose, she exhales through her mouth. She also sleeps with her head thrown back like she is looking up which stretches those muscles pulling her mouth open (probably opens her airway), though she does not seem to have a problem when I reposition her and tuck her head down.
Any experience on helping a toddler retrain her breathing?

It is interesting to me because she very much resembles my brother who has the narrow palate and overjet and severe crowding even after multiple tooth extractions. Yet her palate is wide at age 2 and she even has spaces between her teeth (unlike my other children). I'm probably a little freaky, but I really want to avoid crowding and want to change this habit for her for many reasons.