Breathing Through Mouth Can Be a Pain
Breathing through the mouth can cause headaches and pains in other parts of the body, says the Academy of General Dentistry.
“People who breathe through their mouths tend to push their heads forward and their lower jaws backward,” explains Dr. Joseph Discipio, an academy spokesman in Chicago. “This changes the way the upper and lower teeth fit together and throw the teeth out of balance.”
The imbalance, says Discipio, can strain muscles in the jaw, causing pain. Because bones connect jaw muscles in other parts of the body, pain can travel from the jaw to the head, back, face, arms and ears.
A plastic splint that covers teeth so they hit evenly may help restore tooth balance, relieving stress on the jaw muscles and helping them to heal.
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