Mouth breathing

This code signifies the involuntary and habitual respiration through the mouth rather than the nose. It often indicates an underlying issue affecting nasal patency or respiratory function, leading to chronic oral airflow.

Assign this code when documentation explicitly states "mouth breathing" as a presenting symptom or a chronic condition. This is typically observed in patients with nasal obstruction, adenoid hypertrophy, or other upper airway resistance syndromes.

• Do not use for transient mouth breathing due to acute conditions like a common cold unless it becomes habitual.
• Consider co-reporting with codes for underlying causes such as nasal polyps (J33.-) or hypertrophied tonsils and adenoids (J35.0-).
• Distinguish from dry mouth (R68.2), which is an Excludes2 condition, as mouth breathing can be a cause of dry mouth but is not the same condition.