Why Your Child Sleeps With Their Mouth Open: Causes, Red Flags, and How It Impacts Sleep
As a pediatric sleep consultant, I often hear from parents who notice their child sleeping with their mouth open and wonder whether it’s connected to their sleep struggles.
Mouth breathing, snoring, constant wake-ups, or restless sleep can be signs of underlying airway or oral-motor concerns—and those issues often need a different kind of support. That’s why I’ve invited a specialist from Enrichment Therapy and Learning Center to share more about the most common causes of mouth breathing, what red flags to look for, and when it might be time to seek an evaluation.
Does your child sleep with their mouth open? Have you ever wondered if it could be impacting their sleep? There are many reasons why someone might sleep with their mouth open. Let’s talk about some of those reasons.
Sleep Disordered Breathing/ Airway Disturbances
Many people and children have airway disturbances and/or sleep disordered breathing, and don’t even know it. There are some signs to look for, such as odd sleeping positions, teeth grinding, mouth breathing, audible breathing, snoring, and thumb sucking. It is important to find the root cause of airway disturbances so they can be addressed.
Orofacial Myofunctional Disorder
This term refers to the muscles of the face, jaw, lips, and/or mouth functioning abnormally. This can impact swallowing, breathing, talking, and eating. Some of the signs of an OMD would include an improper swallow pattern, limited tongue movement, excessive drooling, thumb sucking, prolonged pacifier use (past 6 months of age), difficulty falling asleep and staying, bed wetting, snoring, and/or grinding teeth.
Tethered Oral Tissue
This term refers to attachments in the mouth that are too tight and do not allow for enough movement with oral structures, such as tongue and lip ties. Tethered oral tissue can impact how the mouth rests and functions. Some signs of tethered oral tissue include difficulty latching while nursing/feeding, frequent gas/colic, clicking or smacking sounds while feeding, heart-shaped tongue, mouth breathing, limited tongue/lip movement, difficulty with speech, recessed chin, and difficulty clearing food from teeth/mouth.
Oftentimes, these areas co-occur and can be symptoms of multiple underlying issues. It is important to talk to someone trained in airway health and Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy in order to get information that is accurate for your child and their needs.
Many times, sleep disordered breathing, OMD’s and tethered oral tissues require a team approach. Some other team members that may be included could be an Otolaryngologist, Dentist/Orthodontist, Speech-Language Pathologist/Myofunctional Therapist, Chiropractor, Allergist, or Occupational Therapist.
At Enrichment Therapy and Learning Center, we have training in tethered oral tissues and myofunctional therapy (along with many other areas such as speech, language, executive functions, social skills, reading, Dyslexia, spelling, writing, math, etc.). We do myofunctional therapy for children 4 years and older. If you have concerns about your child, please reach out to us for an evaluation at 319-626-2553 in North Liberty or 515-419-4270.
- Kaylie Wright, M.A., CCC-SLP
Sleep can be complicated, and there are many reasons a child may struggle. One of my goals as a sleep consultant is to help you figure out the root of the problem so you know where to turn next. Sometimes the issue is about schedules or sleep skills, and sometimes kids need support from other specialists.
If you’re unsure what’s going on or want help getting your child’s sleep on track, you can learn more about my consultations here. I’d love to support you and your family.
