According to a recent study, dentists from the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Institute of Oral Bioscience, School of Dentistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea have found out that there is a positive association between mouth breathing (especially during sleep) and allergic diseases, including AD and dental malocclusion in school-aged children.
The study is published in the Journal of Dental Sciences.
Recently, mouth breathing has been reported as a risk factor for immune diseases such as atopic dermatitis (AD; synonyms: atopic eczema and childhood eczema). However, the mechanism whereby mouth breathing is associated with AD has not been elucidated, and there is not enough evidence that mouth breathing is associated with an increased risk of AD in children.
There have been some prospective cohort studies examining whether mouth breathing influences allergic diseases such as asthma and AD, but clinical studies have been limited to date. Therefore, Dae-WooLee and colleagues carried out this study to investigate the association of mouth breathing with oral health and allergic diseases, including AD among schoolchildren.
A total of 1507 children were included. A questionnaire was used to investigate children's mouth breathing habits and personal/family histories related to allergic disease. Oral health status was determined through a clinical oral examination. Data were analyzed with multivariable logistic regression.
The results showed were-
a. A moderate relationship was observed between mouth breathing and AD (adjusted odds ratio, 1.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.00–1.10; p-value, 0.035), whereas no association was found between mouth breathing and dental caries in children.
b. Mouth breathing during sleep (MBS) was closely related to allergic diseases and other respiratory diseases.
c. Furthermore, mouth breathing was associated with the child's tonsillitis and was identified as a possible risk factor for class II dental malocclusion.
Hence, it was concluded that "there is a positive association between mouth breathing (especially during sleep) and allergic diseases, including the AD in school-aged children. The influence of mouth breathing on dental caries remains uncertain. An intervention trial is required to evaluate whether the prevention of mouth breathing can reduce the risk of allergic diseases."