Measurement of nasal and oral respiration using inductive plethysmography.

The role of nasal respiratory function in oral and facial development remains unclear in spite of the long-standing interest of clinicians. Much of the current controversy stems from our inability to define mouth breathing in objective terms and evaluate nasal airway impairment quantitatively. Recent advances in respiratory monitoring technology provide new opportunities to assess upper airway breathing more objectively. The purpose of this study was to describe a new approach for measuring oral and nasal respiration and to test its reliability. The technique involves inductive plethysmography and the data provide an assessment of respiratory mode without the need to enclose the subject's head in an airtight box. The data were compared to pneumotachography and the results demonstrate the reliability of the technique.