It is a clinically proven fact that improving the structure of the upper airway will give a free flow of air and improve breathing with less snoring. That is why many people wear a mouthpiece for sleep apnea before bedtime to advance the lower jaw forward and clear the partial blockage in the back of the throat.

In fact, even breastfeeding contributes to the tongue’s swallowing movement, right teeth alignment, and shapes the hard palate’s shape. However, feeding children through bottle or if they suck the thumb at a young age may lead to a ‘tongue thrust’ and improper positioning of the teeth when jaws stay closed. Malocclusion, alongside a high amount of palate in the mouth, adversely affects the airflow and hence may lead to a sleep disorder known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea in children, which may cause them to gasp for breath at night.

Breastfeeding will potentially avoid this root cause. Some surveys suggest that a majority of the children aged between 12 to 17 encounter some sort of ‘occlusal disharmony’ or incorrect teeth positioning, and that a lesser percent of youth face malocclusion that mandates treatment. However, other studies show a direction connection between the duration of breastfeeding among young kids and occlusion.

It is seen that the longer children are breastfed, the better will their teeth positioning. Contrary to that is the practice of bottle-feeding alongside said bad habits of kids that may cause malocclusion. A tall mouth palate might affect occlusion in children and influence their breathing process in the near future. It may also narrow down the upper teeth arch and lead to a cross-bite, a form of malocclusion or misalignment of teeth’s arches.

As the mouth’s roof also happens to be the floor of the nasal cavity, an increase in the palate’s height reduces the nasal cavity’s size. This reduction of the nasal cavity may lead to resistance of airway via the nose. High palate may cause narrowing of the skull opening at the nose’s back known as choanae.

A narrow opening result in a much smaller opening into soft tissues of the nasal airway, and the narrow is the opening of the airway, the adverse would be the risk of airway collapsing and snoring. In order to avoid such instances, it is best to practice breastfeeding children at a young age so that OSA and snoring can be avoided with caution.