Oral Habits
Oral habits are often the body’s way of compensating for underlying challenges with
breathing, muscle tone, or development.
While many of these habits are common, they may
interfere with healthy growth when they persist.
Mouth Breathing
Resting or sleeping with an open mouth may affect how the face, jaws and airway develop. Mouth breathing may often lead to low tongue posture, weak lip muscles and inefficient breathing patterns.
What Parents Should Look For:
- Mouth breathing during the day or night
- Snoring or restless sleep
- Open-mouth posture
- Dry lips or frequent lip licking
- Drooling, loud/messy eating
- Crowded or shifting teeth
- Picky eating or difficulty chewing
- Fatigue, irritability, or difficulty focusing
These signs can be subtle and are often mistaken for normal developmental phases.
Why These Habits Develop:
Oral habits rarely appear without a reason. Common contributing factors include:
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- Difficulty breathing through the nose due to underdeveloped jaws and airways,
allergies, congestion, or enlarged tonsils/adenoids
- Restricted tongue mobility (tongue-tie)
- Low oral muscle tone
- Small jaws, high palate
- Structural limitations in jaw or airway development
- Prolonged use of pacifiers, bottles, or sucking habits
- Sensory or self-soothing needs
The body adapts to maintain comfort and airflow, even if those adaptations are not ideal for growth.
The Approach.
At Dr Levi's, we look at the connection between how our jaw development influences our airway development. When a child's dental arches and jaw are underdeveloped, it may impact the way they breathe, particularly during sleep. Addressing that growth and development early may help alleviate symptoms now and in the future.
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We utilise a system of biomimetic oral appliances and therapies - tools designed to work with the body's natural growth processes to support the development of the jaw and dental arches. As this development progresses, some children may experience improvements in the symptoms that brought their parents to us in the first place.
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Every child is different, and we take the time to understand your child's individual situation before recommending any course of care.
How does it work?
After years of research Professor David Singh DMD PhD DDSc, created the Vivos System biomimetic (meaning to mimic nature) oral appliances which have helped more than 14,000 patients in the USA.
The Vivos System consists of multi-disciplinary therapeutic protocols and oral appliances which increase and enhance the airway.
Dr Levi is working with children who struggle to breathe optimally when they sleep by using this system of biomimetic appliances and therapies. These treatments promote natural growth and development to expand the dental arches and help the upper and lower jaws to grow. As these areas develop more fully, the child’s airway may widen and expand which may help to improve the quality of breathing a child experiences. When children can breathe optimally whilst sleeping, they can grow, learn and blossom into their full potential.
At Dr Levi's, we provide dental solutions that are backed by science and research.
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Our team are passionate about improving the quality of your child’s breathing and sleep to maximise emotional, physical and mental growth and development.
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Dr Mark Levi (Dentist)
Craniofacial Dental
Sleep Medicine
Meet the Team
Sam
Clinic Manager
Tammy
Clinical Administrator
Wouroud
Bachelor of Oral Health
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist
Evie
Junior Clinical Administrator
Kristy
Patient Education Team
Tarik
Patient Education Team