OBJECTIVE: To study possible orofacial alterations originated from nasal obstruction symptoms in patients with allergic diseases of the superior airways, through search of scientific literature about the theme. DATA SOURCES: Bibliographic survey of the last 30 years using electronic data such as Medline, Ovid, SciELO and Lilacs, and the keywords "asthma", "rhinitis" and "mouth breathing". Revision articles, observational and clinical studies were included. DATA SYNTHESIS: Nasal obstruction is often found in patients with allergic diseases of airways, such as rhinitis and asthma. The mouth breathing originated from nasal obstruction can interfere directly in the child development with alterations in the craniofacial growth, body posture, sleep quality and performance at school. CONCLUSIONS: Due to the variety of orofacial alterations found in children who have nasal obstruction because of allergic diseases of airways and, therefore, are mouth breathers, it is necessary to start the treatment as soon as possible by a multidisciplinary team, formed by doctors, orthodontists and speech therapists, considering a unique airway that brings consequences to growth and development of the oral motor system of these children.
maxillofacial development; hipersensitivity; respiratory tract diseases; mouth breathing; rhinitis, allergic, erennial
