It's not uncommon for people to breathe through their mouth when they are asleep. Even if you're not (or think you're not) a mouth breather, there is a chance that you may develop the habit to mouth breath later in life. So it is important to understand the dental consequences that this can have and what you can do about it.
Why is Mouth Breathing bad for your dental health?
When you breathe through your mouth, the airflow going through the oral cavity causes the saliva inside your mouth to dry up. This is a major concern because saliva has many benefits for your oral health, including the ability to help prevent tooth decay.
As we explained on a previous blog, saliva contains minerals such as calcium and phosphate that can aid in remineralizing the tooth enamel after an "Acid attack", which is when bacteria in our mouth feast on the food debris that is left behind every time we eat and produces an acid that sits on our tooth, causing our enamel to lose it's shielding minerals in the process.
Saliva plays an important role in providing these weakened areas with the minerals it needs to repair itself, but if there is no saliva present to bathe our teeth and gums with these minerals, our teeth don't get the chance to regain these protective minerals and weaken. Eventually leading to tooth decay and the formation of a cavity.
How do I Know if I'm a Mouth Breather and What can I do?
If you snore while you're sleeping, then it is almost a guarantee that you're breathing through your mouth throughout the night. From personal experience we've found that using a pillow that keeps your head more straight or sleeping with your head to the side (rather than facing up) can reduce the chances of snoring, but of course this may not work for everybody.
For those of you who don't snore, the most common sign that you're breathing through your mouth is if you wake up in the morning with a dry mouth. Although there may be other reasons why you may experience dry mouth, such as having sjogren's syndrome. More often than not, mouth breathing is the most common reason for waking up with a dry-mouth. Using products like biotene gel and mouth wash before you go to bed (and throughout the day), can reduce the consequences of having a dry-mouth, as it helps keep your mouth moisturized for several hours.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. We hope this helps your understand what consequences mouth breathing may have to your dental health. If you have any questions please leave them in the comment section below. If you enjoyed and found it educational please share it with your friends and family on Facebook and follow us on Instagram. It only takes 1 minute of your time and it helps us out a lot. Thanks!