MOUTH BREATHING PATTERN: ITS PREVALENCE AMONG 5 TO 12 YEAR OLD SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN

Aim: To determine the prevalence of Mouth breathing among 5 to 12 year old school going children. Study design: A cross sectional study. Methods: A total of 410 school going children of both genders between the age group 5-12 years, were selected and screened. Data was collected using clinical guidelines for recognition of mouth breathers and additionally 3 performance tests- Graded mirror test, Lip seal test, Water retention test for confirmation of diagnosis were carried out. Results: Prevalence of Mouth breathing was observed to be 11.70%.A descriptive statistics was used for the presence of alterations facial characteristics among mouth breathers.Therewas statistically significant difference observed between the facial characteristics and the performance tests parameters among Mouth breathers and nasal breathers (p<0.05). Conclusion: Prevalence of mouth breathing was around 11.70% among 5 to 12 year old school going children.