Mouth Breathing Across the Lifespan: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
in Prosthodontics and Digital Dentistry A Narrative Review
Priyanjali Paul1*, Tridib Nath Banerjee2, Anasua Debnath1 and Saurav
Banerjee2
1Assistant Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, Dr. R. Ahmed Dental College
and Hospital, Kolkata, India
2Associate Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, Dr. R. Ahmed Dental College
and Hospital, Kolkata, India
*Corresponding Author: Priyanjali Paul, Assistant Professor, Department of
Prosthodontics, Dr. R. Ahmed Dental College and Hospital, Kolkata, India.
Received:
July 28, 2026; Published: August 25, 2026
Mouth breathing is a frequent functional disorder in children and adolescents and is commonly associated with upper-airway
obstruction, altered orofacial muscle balance, and abnormal dentofacial growth. Although the topic is usually discussed in pedodon-
tics, orthodontics, and otolaryngology, its long-term consequences are also relevant to prosthodontics, because untreated cases may
reach adulthood with constricted arches, an altered vertical facial pattern, malocclusion, oral dryness, and functional instability that
complicate rehabilitation. Contemporary meta-analyses confirm that mouth breathers differ from nasal breathers in measurable
craniofacial parameters, including reduced SNA and SNB angles and increased vertical facial dimensions. At the same time, digital
dentistry has improved the documentation and planning of such patients through intraoral scanning, selective cone-beam computed
tomography (CBCT), CAD/CAM workflows, and three-dimensional data integration. This narrative review presents a concise in-
terdisciplinary overview of the causes of mouth breathing, the craniofacial and prosthodontic implications of persistent childhood
cases, and the role of digital dentistry—including emerging artificial-intelligence and additive-manufacturing applications—in diag-
nosis and treatment planning.
Keywords: Mouth Breathing; Prosthodontics; Digital Dentistry; Interdisciplinary Care; CBCT; Intraoral Scanning; Craniofacial
Development
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