Mouth breathing or open mouth posture usually means the tongue is resting down and forward while sleeping or awake. This position may cause abnormal skeletal growth patterns, which may lead to a forward head and neck posture, malocclusion, and Sleep Disordered Breathing. Mouth breathing may also involve lack of lip closure, which is necessary for jaw stability and to create the intraoral negative pressure necessary to hold the tongue in place. Most importantly, during mouth breathing there is a lack of tongue-to-palate contact, necessary to create the “suction-cup” effect that holds the tongue in place with the lips closed.

Open Mouth Posture is treatable with Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy.  Therapy involves a course of exercises over time to re-educate the nerves and muscles of the face for better chewing, breathing and swallowing. This therapy is excellent and requires good patient motivation and compliance.