How to Recognize Breathing Issues in Children: A Guide for Middleburg, VA Parents
Humans are meant to breathe through the nose. It filters, warms, and humidifies the air before it reaches the lungs, and the nasal passages even help produce nitric oxide, which plays a role in healthy oxygen absorption. Mouth breathing is meant to be an occasional backup, like during exercise, not an everyday habit. For parents at our Middleburg, VA practice and around Loudoun County, here's what to watch for if you're wondering whether your child's breathing patterns are worth a closer look.
Signs Worth Watching For
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children be screened for snoring, and a handful of other signs are worth paying attention to as well, especially if you notice several together rather than just one:
• Mouth breathing: lips resting apart during the day, chapped lips, or drooling on the pillow at night.
• Snoring or restless sleep.
• Frequent colds, or frequent ear and sinus infections.
• Crowded teeth or a noticeably long, narrow facial shape.
• Trouble focusing, socializing, or keeping up in school.
No single sign on its own means much, plenty of kids have one of these without any underlying issue, but a cluster of them together is worth mentioning to your pediatrician or dentist.
A Team Approach to Evaluation
Recognizing these signs is a team effort between parents, pediatricians, and dentists. Parents are usually the first to notice when something feels off. Pediatricians track a child's overall growth and development. Dentists, in turn, get a close look at facial and dental development at each visit. Some dentists pursue additional training specifically in recognizing and treating airway and breathing concerns. If you or your child's pediatrician notice any of these signs, it's worth mentioning to your dentist too, and if your dentist doesn't have that specific training, they should be able to point you toward someone who does.
What This Doesn't Mean
Recognizing these signs isn't a substitute for your child's regular medical care, and it isn't a reason to question a diagnosis your pediatrician has already made. If your child takes medication for ADHD, asthma, or anything else, please don't stop or change it based on anything here; that's a conversation for the prescribing doctor, not a dental visit. If an airway or breathing concern is identified, it's typically addressed alongside your child's existing medical care, working with your pediatrician and any specialists involved, not instead of it.
If you've noticed a few of these signs in your child, it's worth bringing up at your next visit, whether that's with us or your pediatrician.
Have questions about your child's breathing or dental development? Schedule a visit with Middleburg Smiles today.