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Breast-feeding and deleterious oral habits in mouth and nose breathers

Luciana Vitaliano Voi Trawitzki1, Wilma T Anselmo-Lima, Melissa O Melchior

  • 1FMRP-USP, Department of Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck, School of Speech Therapy, UNAERP.

Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
|August 1, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Children who breastfed longer were more likely to be nasal breathers. Mouth breathers had shorter breastfeeding durations and more oral habits like thumb sucking and nail biting.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Otorhinolaryngology
  • Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

  • Breast-feeding offers numerous childhood benefits, including promoting nasal breathing.
  • Understanding the interplay between infant feeding practices and respiratory patterns is crucial for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between breathing patterns (nasal vs. mouth breathing) and the history of breast-feeding and oral habits in young children.
  • To determine if shorter breast-feeding duration or specific oral habits correlate with mouth breathing.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional cohort study involving 62 children aged 3 to 6 years and 11 months.
  • Otorhinolaryngologic evaluations (rhinoscopy, oroscopy, radiology) and speech-language pathology interviews were conducted.
  • Parental questionnaires gathered data on feeding methods, breast-feeding duration, and deleterious oral habits (suction, biting).

Main Results:

  • Nasal breathers exhibited significantly longer breast-feeding periods, particularly between 3 and 6 months of age.
  • Mouth breathers showed a higher prevalence of deleterious oral habits, specifically suction (p=0.004) and biting (p=0.0002).
  • No significant difference was found in the use of bottle feeding between nasal and mouth breathers.

Conclusions:

  • Shorter breast-feeding duration is associated with mouth breathing in children.
  • Deleterious oral habits are more prevalent in children who are mouth breathers.
  • Findings highlight the importance of prolonged breast-feeding for establishing healthy respiratory patterns and preventing oral habit development.
Abstract

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