Do I have long face syndrome, and if so is it too late too correct at 18?

[gnarlysnarly]

So I'm 18 years old, and oddly enough while I've been actively trying to get in better shape (fixing bad posture), I came across the dangers of mouth breathing, which can oftentimes accompany bad posture. Needless to say all of the pictures scared me because upon reflection I definitely did[ breathe through my mouth most of my childhood. I checked some old pictures where I'm unaware my picture is being taken, and sure enough there I am in all of my slack-jawed glory.

However, I haven't been breathing out of my mouth for the past year or so because I've been trying to correct bad posture and I've been doing yoga where it's required to breathe through the nose. I didn't even notice that I stopped breathing through my mouth, I guess I just got used to the correct way.

Part of the reason I think this happened was because (as you can see in the pictures below) I have a clearly crooked nose, and it's also got a lump on it. My left nostril is larger than the right which would explain the mouth breathing habit. I do breathe with my mouth open at night as I find it almost impossible to breathe out of my nose, but I've been trying the "tape your mouth shut while you sleep" technique recently with moderate success.

So I guess my main question is, 1) Do I show evidence of prior mouth breathing and/or long face syndrome and 2) is it too late at 18 for it to be corrected naturally?

I went through puberty significantly later than my male peers, and I have noticed my face/jaw in general has gotten broader in the past year alone which I would think is a good sign? I also had an expander/braces from when I was 13-15. I had an overbite which is fixed, but my bottom teeth became somewhat crooked again because I stopped wearing my retainer after about a year. They still look much better than before the braces, but I never thought the two could be related. I always wondered why being in relatively good shape, I had such bad stamina my whole life, and I think it was due to bad breathing habits.

For the TL;DR people, I'm not sure if bad genetics/bad habits as a child may have altered my appearance in some way now.

Here are the pictures:

[Dontknowwhattodo]

I think your a good looking guy man, dont worry too much. Just work out a bit, soon you lose the baby fat on your face, you become more mature and much more good looking, dont worry. And I dont think you have long face syndrome, no way, I dont think so.

[nrelax11]

No

[LoveofScotch]

Your face is fine.

If you can't breathe (breath?) through your nose, I would consider getting that looked at/fixed, though.

[gnarlysnarly]

Your face is fine.

If you can't breathe (breath?) through your nose, I would consider getting that looked at/fixed, though.

Well that's a relief. I guess I'm lucky I avoided any noticeable symptoms, because I was definitely a mouth breather throughout most of my childhood. My dad was the same way and he has long face syndrome. But his teeth are incredibly crooked too, so maybe the braces helped me.

In regards to getting it checked out, would I just go to my regular physician about that? I just want to curb this bad habit before I start getting sleep apnea and the like.

[LoveofScotch]

I would just go see an ENT (Otolaryngology). They will be able to tell you what's going on, and what to do about it. (ENT is ear, nose, and throat doctor.)

[nrelax11]

Yea thats who I saw for my nasal problem. I had a deviated septum and it was blocking my right nasal passage almost completely.  I can finally breath through my nose and thats good since im having jaw surgery.

[dantheman]

No long face syndrome here. I had similar issues as a child. I also only recently trained myself to nasal breathe at night... Now I usually can with practice, but it's only since my allergies seemed to improve with age. I don't remember having significant daytime issues.

For a septal problem the only solution is surgery by an ENT. You don't need jaw surgery.

[ticktickatick]

You may also want to google "chronic sinusitis fungal". Some people get chronic fungal infections up in their nose which makes breathing normally impossible. It will be hard to be a natural nose-breather unless you get that fixed (as well as any deviated septums or other structural blockages).