An experimental clinical study on measurement methods of children's oral respiration

Background: This controlled clinical trial investigated the spirometry sensitivity for screening mouth breathing. Mouth breathing in children may cause abnormalities in dental and maxillofacial development, and even have adverse impact on physical and mental health. At the same time, there is no unified standard for outpatient diagnosis of oral breathing between pediatricians and dentists. It is thus clinically important to explore conducive diagnostic method for children’s oral respiration in outpatient multidisciplinary clinic. Methods: A total of 48 children and adolescents of 6–14 years age attending the Department of Stomatology in Hebei General Hospital were selected for oral and nasal respiration examinations by the conventional clinical methods. Slow ventilation was then improved with the MasterScreen PFT (Pulmonary Function Instrument) system in respiratory clinic. Patients were allowed to take several calming breaths after the relaxation. Patients’ tidal volume and oral airflow during the inhalation were subsequently measured using thoracic motion measurements as a reference. It was determined whether the children were mouth-breathing or not. The data were statistically analysed. Results: The differences in tidal volume and oral airflow were statistically significant for oral-breathing group (p < 0.05). The differences in nasal-breathing group were not significant. Results of the modified spirometer usage and clinical examination of mouth breathing children were similar. Conclusions: Modified lung function instruments quickly determine the presence and severity of children’s mouth breathing. It is suggested that the oral respiratory airflow testing by this method along with the four conventional methods to detect severity of oral respiration can improve the diagnostic and therapeutic accuracy.

Mouth breathing; Children and adolescents; Experimental study; Oral breathing airflow

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