Use of A Novel Intraoral Device to Promote Nasal Breathing Reduces Risk of Tooth Decay in Children

Introduction: Tooth decay is a major issue for children, particularly disadvantaging those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and has both physical and psychological repercussions. Treatment is expensive and unavailable for many children, making prevention essential. Mouth-breathing dries the mouth, reduces saliva flow rate and increases the presence of cariogenic bacteria that cause tooth decay. It is hypothesized that use of an intraoral device to promote nasal breathing may reduce the presence of tooth decay in children.

Methods: In a retrospective chart analysis of 80 children aged 4-12, children who were using an intraoral device (Vivos Guide, Vivos Therapeutics, Inc.) to promote nasal breathing were compared against those who had not used the device (control group). The device was worn passively at night and children were also asked to complete 2-4 hours of ‘active wear’ during the day, doing functional exercises with the tongue to promote nasal breathing. The presence of tooth decay was evaluated at six and twelve months and compared between the two groups.

Results: The subjects who used the intraoral device averaged 0.3 instances of tooth decay at six months and 0.4 instances at twelve months. Those who did not averaged 1.28 instances at six months and 0.95 at twelve months.

Discussion: Use of an intraoral device to promote nasal breathing significantly reduced the risk of tooth decay by 76.4% after six months (p = 0.0004) and by 57.9% (p = 0.05) after twelve months. The device was well-tolerated by the subjects.

Conclusion: The study demonstrates use of an intraoral device to promote nasal breathing can reduce tooth decay and provides a novel method to supplement other means of prevention.

Keywords: Prevention of tooth decay; intraoral device; Vivos Guide; Nasal breathing