Montgomery News

• People suffering from chronic sinus problems are more likely to breathe through their mouths. 
• Mouth breathing can lead to oral health issues and sleep disorders. 
• Some signs that you are a mouth breather include sleeping with your mouth open, snoring, drooling while sleeping, and irritability during the day.

Mouth breathing, the habit of breathing through your mouth rather than your nose, is an unpleasant side effect of sinus problems and can cause several health issues. According to Dr. Manish Khanna of Capitol Breathe Free, breathing properly is very important.  

“By not using our nasal passages we just start to mouth breathe, because we can't or don't know how to use our noses,” Dr. Khanna told the Montgomery News. “Because it's stuffed all the time, it's inflamed all the time, whatever it is, is not a good environment for our oral health. Things tend to dry up more, get a lot of dryness in our throat area, the saliva dries up quicker and that can lead to more issues with dental caries and problems in the oral cavity as well, this can sometimes affect the sense of taste, because of that dryness from all the mouth breathing that we're doing.”

People who suffer from allergies or chronic sinus problems are more likely to breathe through their mouths, but mouth breathing can lead to oral health issues, according to McCarl Dental Group. Mouth breathing dries up saliva, allowing bacteria and plaque to build up on the teeth, which can cause cavities, gum disease, and chronic bad breath. Over time, regularly breathing through the mouth can also lead to strained jaw joints, snoring, sleep apnea, enlarged tonsils, and a higher risk for airway disorders, such as asthma. 

KTM Yoga reports that although most people should breathe through their noses most of the time, as much as 60% of adults often breathe through their mouths. Hair and mucus within the nose act as filters that trap bacteria and dust. Nasal breathing also increases oxygen intake and boosts brain activity. Another benefit of breathing through the nose is that it helps to slow airflow, which widens blood vessels and slows the heart rate, leading to a feeling of calm.

According to Healthline, mouth breathing dries out the mouth, creating the proper environment for gingivitis and cavity development. Overall, nose breathing is more beneficial than mouth breathing.

Chronic sinus problems are one reason that people may begin snoring, according to Kaplan Sinus Relief. Short-term effects of snoring include fatigue during the day, headaches, chest pain during the night, and a sore throat in the morning. Snoring takes place when your body is unable to breathe properly through the nose while sleeping, which can happen when the sinuses are inflamed or infected. Breathing through the mouth while sleeping causes the airways to narrow, and the soft tissues in the throat vibrate, causing the snoring sound.

According to Capitol Breathe Free's website, Dr. Manish Khanna earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The following year, he completed postgraduate research at the National Institutes of Health. In 2002, he obtained his medical degree from Albany Medical College. where he later completed both his surgical internship and residency, serving as chief resident until 2007. After his residency, he pursued a fellowship in rhinology, specializing in advanced endoscopic sinus surgery, at the California Sinus Institute in Palo Alto, California. He completed this fellowship and achieved board certification in otolaryngology—head and neck surgery in 2008 before returning to the D.C. metro area.