Postural Implications of Chronic Mouth-Breathing

The shape of the cranium in the growing child will be distorted when the cranium is not held level. The adult cranium weighs between 4-5 Kg, the child’s cranium a little less, and it contains largely water. If the head is not held level then there will be an increased mass of cranial contents on the downhill side leading to cranial distortion. The cranium consists of twenty nine different bones separated by sutures. If there is distortion in any bone in the cranium it will be reflected in all bones in the cranium including the upper and lower jaws.

In the mouth breathing child the head is pitched or tilted backwards increasing the mass of cranial contents in the posterior part of the cranium. If the child is able to improve the cranial posture by establishing nasal breathing then the cranium will have the opportunity to grow with a more favourable pattern. This improved pattern will be reflected throughout the cranium including the dental arches.



There is no distortion in one part of the body that is not reflected throughout the body. For a level cranium we need level shoulders, a level pelvis and this requires good foot support.