The child's mouth is constantly open: causes, possible diseases, treatment

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

The question of why a child's mouth is constantly open worries many mothers and fathers. After all, caring parents carefully monitor the development of their child, not at all allowing something to happen to their baby. Therefore, with any change in the behavior or development of the baby, they sound the alarm. And rightly so.

A frivolous attitude towards your child can lead to serious consequences. For example, a common occurrence among young children - a constantly open mouth during wakefulness, may not be a harmless prank, but a serious illness. Let's try to understand the reasons that contribute to this phenomenon.

In some cases, nothing bad happens if the child forgets to close his mouth. This may be a common habit when a baby has been walking around with a pacifier in its mouth for a long time, and has recently been deprived of this pleasure. If parents observe that after a long period their child still does not close his mouth, then it is not a matter of habit - here the reason is completely different.

ENT-diseases

ENT diseases are a common reason why a child's mouth is constantly open.

Difficulty breathing through the nose can be triggered by diseases such as sinusitis, otitis media, sinusitis, nasal polyps or adenoids. Parents should especially think about adenoids, since almost every third child faces this problem. When they occur, swelling of the nasal mucosa occurs, or they partially block the nasal passages, which makes it difficult for the child to breathe and even speak clearly. In a dream, such children also do not close their lips, their breathing is heavy, their sleep is interrupted. They often wake up at night because the body does not have enough air.

Normal breathing is also difficult in sinusitis, when the paranasal sinuses are inflamed due to a prolonged runny nose or other infectious diseases. The human organs are designed so that the incoming cold air passes through the nasal passage, warming, moistening and cleaning. Directing through the mouth, the air does not go through all these mandatory steps. As a result, a baby who constantly breathes through his mouth often catches a cold and becomes seriously ill. Over time, he may develop an incorrect posture or bite due to incorrect closure of the dentition. There are also changes in behavior. Such children feel more uncomfortable with other guys, their mood often deteriorates, there is a sleep disorder.

Allergic reaction of the body

Sometimes allergies can manifest themselves in the most unexpected ways. Habitual redA skin rash or cough is the most common symptom of a food or drug allergy.

Swelling of the nasopharynx can also occur due to exposure to allergens on the child's body. Hence the difficulty in breathing through the nose, which prompts the child to breathe through the mouth. In this case, the otolaryngologist prescribes drops that relieve allergic inflammation of the nasal mucosa.

Dental Problems

In the question of why the child constantly opens his mouth, the problem of a dental nature should also not be ruled out. Difficulty in closing the lips may lie in the wrong bite. Until the child is small and all his teeth have not erupted, it is difficult to notice this problem. Only when permanent teeth appear, parents can notice that something is wrong with the baby's bite, and go to the orthodontist. It is advisable to get to a specialist before the child is 12 years old, in which case the doctor will be able to regulate the correct growth of the jaws.

Also, a slightly open mouth can be the result of diseased teeth. It is more convenient for the baby to hold it open than to feel pain when closing. Parents should pay attention to the he alth of their child's teeth - perhaps the problem lies precisely here. In this case, you should go to a pediatric dentist. If, after having carried out sanitation of the oral cavity, the child still does not part with his habit, other reasons should not be ruled out.

Violation of tonecircumlabial muscles

Violation of the tone of the circumlabial muscles is one of the reasons why a baby's mouth is constantly open. And this is a fairly common occurrence among infants. According to experts, if a baby under one year old has an open mouth, then there is no reason for concern. Such a habit can go away in a child by itself, without the intervention of doctors. Although you should not relax too much, the way you keep your mouth open can provoke the diseases mentioned above: the occurrence of adenoids, the formation of malocclusion. And if, after a year, the child’s mouth is also constantly open, what to do in such a situation, the specialist will tell you.

As for the circular muscles of the mouth, you can strengthen them with the help of special gymnastics prescribed by orthodontists. This is a very effective method that corrects dentoalveolar pathology. An orthodontic cap (tooth trainer) will also help put the jaws in the correct position. The tongue of the child takes the correct position in the oral cavity, due to which breathing through the nose is restored. It is very convenient to use, as it does not have to be worn around the clock, which is important for small children. This special construction is like a helper for parents - it helps to quickly wean the baby from thumb sucking.

Problems with the central nervous system

Such a pathology can be determined if, in addition to an open mouth, a child also has excessive salivation or the tip of the tongue constantly peeps out. In this case, parents should not delaytime and show the baby to the doctor, as these symptoms can mean a serious pathology of the central nervous system.

At best, if the child constantly opens his mouth, this behavior occurs due to normal hypertonicity. Hypertonicity is accompanied by sleep disturbance, the baby is often irritable, naughty, crying.

Acquired habit

Children constantly copy those with whom they communicate. This is fine. If parents did not notice before the child that he keeps his mouth constantly open, and suddenly by the age of six they began to observe such a phenomenon, then most likely this is the usual copying of the behavior of someone they know. A child can take a bad habit not only from his peers, but also from adults with whom he often contacts.

Junior preschool age is the very period when children tend to behave like this. Over time, a bad habit can go away on its own. But still, it is better to calmly talk with the child and teach him to control his facial expressions.

Be careful

Parents should never ignore a child's behavior if they observe his mouth constantly not closing. Maybe a beloved child with such facial expressions looks cute and funny. But in any case, if the child's mouth is constantly open, this is a wake-up call for moms and dads. If you want to see your child he althy, you should immediately take action and trust the specialists.