Care of nasal airway to prevent orthodontic problems in children.

ABSTRACT

Obstruction in the upper respiratory passage is a cause of mouth breathing. A mouth breather lowers the tongue position to facilitate the flow of air in to the expanding lungs. The state of equilibrium of forces inside themouth is disturbed, thereby resulting altered soft tissue force acting on the bones in between. The resultant effect is maldevelopment of the jaw in particular and deformity of the face in general. Setting of the teeth on the jaw is also affected. All these make the face to look negative. So, to prevent orthodontic problem in children, it is necessary to detect the nasopharyngeal obstruction and treat the same accordingly.