Breathing through the mouth

| Breathing is the basic and indispensable element for human life. Nasal breathing is physiological or natural breathing. Allows air to enter through the nostrils.

Thanks to respiration, the bases of the gas exchange of our organism and of a whole innumerable list of basic functions are given.

Inside the nose we find a partition that divides it in two nostrils. Thus, the nostrils have two anterior orifices that we call the nasal vestibule and they are the entry orifices of the air from the outside: The two posterior orifices are called choanas, which flow into the rhinopharynx, that is, they are interior orifices.

Air enters through the nostrils and passes through the inside of the nose, exiting through the choanas and reaching the rhinopharynx. From there, the air makes its way to the larynx and, later, to the trachea, the bronchi, the bronchioles and the pulmonary alveoli. When the air reaches the pulmonary alveoli, the gas exchange, mentioned above, takes place. It consists of the passage of oxygen from the lungs to the blood and the passage of carbon dioxide from the blood to the lung.

Why is nasal breathing so important?

Air enters the nostrils on inspiration and creates a current inward. This air current is responsible for the air exchange of the maxillary sinuses.

This air stream reaches a very high area within these nostrils, where the organ of olfaction is located. In this way, we can have a correct sense of smell.

The air in the nose is humidified, so that when it passes through the larynx (following its path to the lungs) it does not damage the mucous membranes.

The air is filtered into the nose. In the nose or in the nostrils all the particles that are harmful to our larynx and our trachea are deposited. This filter can be very useful for the prevention of allergies and asthmatic processes.

The air is heated in the nose. Air enters the nostrils at room temperature. This is facilitated by the existence of abundant blood vessels and the contact of air with the mucosa. Finally, this air acquires the body temperature that is necessary and essential so that it does not damage the larynx, trachea and lungs. In this way, bronchitis and other inflammatory or infectious processes of the respiratory system are prevented.

When physiological nasal respiration is disturbed and, as an alternative mechanism, oral or buccal respiration occurs.

Oral breathing

Since we are talking about oral health it is worth mentioning oral respiration as a potentially harmful entity.

Man is born conditioned to breathe through the nose and feed through the mouth. Mouth breathing is considered normal only when it is carried out under very great physical efforts.

Oral respiration is a clinical picture that occurs with some frequency in pediatric and adult ages. It can have fatal consequences such as, for example, affecting the growth and development of the child, and not just facial. This can lead to an impairment of the general health of the adult.

The symptoms and effects that oral breathing can cause are, mainly,: dryness and inflammation of the gums, disorders in the development of the jaws (narrow and sunken palate, elongated jaw), malocclusions, dental crowding, hearing impairment, school delay , postural alterations, atypical or abnormal swallowing, sinusitis, otitis and snoring, among others.