Establishment of nasal breathing should be the ultimate goal to secure adequate craniofacial and airway development in children
Journal Title: Jornal de Pediatria - Year 2018, Vol 94, Issue 2
Abstract
As shown for many years and studied again by Chambi-Rocha et al.1 in this issue of the Journal, chronic mouth breathing during active craniofacial development of a child may result in anatomical changes that directly affect the airway.2 These changes may result in greater airway instability and collapsibility that potentially lead to other problems later in life, such as sleep-disordered breathing.3 Prior investigations of children with mouth breathing have shown a correlation with abnormal orofacial growth.4 There is also a continuous interaction between nasal breathing and appropriate sucking, swallowing, and mastication to optimize orofacial growth.5 This is especially important in children, in whom the naso-maxillary complex continuously grows from infancy, throughout the pre-pubertal period, and until the completion of puberty. In fact, maximal orofacial growth takes place during the first two years of life; by age 6 years, nearly 60% of the adult face has developed. Therefore, establishing adequate nasal breathing early in life is essential to maximize the growth of the skeletal complex and the upper airway.6,7
Authors and Affiliations
Christian Guilleminault
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP483968
- DOI 10.1016/j.jped.2017.08.002
- Views 112
- Downloads 0
Birth weight and its association with blood pressure and nutritional status in adolescents
Objective The management of children with low birth weight is not the same in countries with different resources. The authors assessed the association of birth weight with blood pressure and nutritional status in a repre...
Analysis of neonatal mortality risk factors in Brazil: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
Objective To identify, using a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies, which risk factors are significantly associated with neonatal mortality in Brazil, and to build a comprehensive national analys...
Health promoting behaviors in adolescence: validation of the Portuguese version of the Adolescent Lifestyle Profile
Objective Reliable and valid instruments are essential for understanding health-promoting behaviors in adolescents. This study analyzed the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Adolescent Lifestyle Pr...
Aggregation of risk indicators to cardiometabolic and musculoskeletal health in Brazilian adolescents in the periods 2008/09 and 2013/14
Objective To assess the occurrence of an aggregate risk to cardiometabolic and musculoskeletal health of Brazilian adolescents in the period 2008/09 and 2013/14 and to identify whether there are differences in risk betwe...
Socioeconomic inequality in childhood obesity and its determinants: a Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition
Objective Childhood obesity has become a priority health concern worldwide. Socioeconomic status is one of its main determinants. This study aimed to assess the socioeconomic inequality of obesity in children and adolesc...