Mouth Taping

ENT surgeon warns against mouth taping without evaluation

Dr. Linda Lee, an ENT surgeon at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, explains that mouth taping is generally not a good idea before a medical evaluation, since many people cannot breathe through their nose due to deviated septums or allergies.

"Any information you could share would be great. Thanks in advance. If you frequent the wellness world on social media, you have probably seen this mouth taping trend. If you avoid wellness TikTok like an unsterilized jade egg, then you probably haven't. But it's people using adhesive tape to force their mouth closed while they're sleeping to promote nose breathing. I absolutely love mouth taping. It has completely changed my life, my sleep, the way that I look. I have such a stuffy nose by nature, deviated septum, all the nose problems, and it forces your nose to kind of clear out. I've never woken up with a clearer nose."

Sleep endoscopy can identify who benefits from mouth taping

Dr. Lee describes drug-induced sleep endoscopy, where doctors put patients to sleep under anesthesia and observe where airway obstruction occurs, allowing them to determine if closing the mouth actually resolves sleep apnea for specific individuals.

"And so in these sleep endoscopies, you can actually see where is the level of obstruction. And there are some people where they close their mouth during that sleep endoscopy and they see that now they don't have sleep apnea. So then now you can actually try to train your body to close your mouth with a chin strap or a mouth tape."

Dangerous conclusion that mouth taping can replace CPAP

Dr. Lee highlights the danger of a 2022 Taiwan study concluding mouth taping could be an alternative to CPAP for mild sleep apnea, noting that people who hate their CPAP will jump at any excuse to abandon it, potentially putting their health at risk.

"Their conclusion, which I think is so dangerous, it says mouth taping could be an alternative treatment in patients with mild sleep apnea before turning to CPAP therapy or surgical intervention. And that kind of stuff is so powerful in potentially a dangerous way because nobody likes their CPAP, right?"

Nasal breathing produces 25% of body's nitric oxide

An estimated 25% of the body's nitric oxide is produced from breathing through the nose. Nitric oxide is critical for vascular health, and low levels are linked to erectile dysfunction, cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease, and sleep disorders.

"So let's jump in. Why is it so bad to breathe through your mouth on a consistent basis? Our nose was primarily designed for breathing and smelling, and our mouth was primarily designed for eating, tasting, and talking. When we use these body parts outside of their intended use, An estimated 25% of our body's nitric oxide is produced from breathing through our nose. This has been taken from a paper published in Wiley Online called Decreased Pulmonary Vascular Resistance During Nasal Breathing. Now, let's do a little background on nitric oxide, a little sidebar, because understanding the importance of nitric oxide and its central role that it plays in our body."

Mouth breathing is the number one cause of cavities

Functional dentist Dr. Mark Burhenne considers mouth breathing to be the number one cause of cavities, even ahead of poor diet. Mouth breathing dries out the mouth, disrupts the oral microbiome, makes the mouth more acidic, and lets bad bacteria take over, leading to cavities and gum disease.

"My friend Dr. Mark Brahanna considers mouth breathing to be the number one cause of cavities, even coming before a poor diet and bad diet."

How to start mouth taping with just a small piece of tape

Dhru Purohit walks through the practical how-to of mouth taping, recommending a quarter-inch piece of inexpensive Medvanced Silicone Tape placed over just the center of the lips to lightly keep them together overnight.

"Right before bed, you're cutting a tiny piece of tape, maybe a quarter of an inch. Now you're placing the mouth tape over the center of your lips, just the center. You're not trying to cover your entire mouth."

Personal experience with mouth taping reducing teeth grinding

Dhru shares that he used to grind his teeth at night, which is one way the body compensates for disordered sleep breathing. After starting mouth taping, he noticed massive improvement in sleep quality and far less jaw tension, and even got his wife on board.

"I'll talk about that more in a future episode. After I started mouth taping, I noticed a massive improvement in my sleep. True story. And way less tension in my jaws. Mouth taping works so well that I even got my wife on board. She has a pretty prominent tongue tie. We haven't gotten the little operation that you can get rid of the tongue tie, but that's definitely on our list in the future. She's a little afraid of doing it right now. So we put her on mouth tape, which I'll talk about in a second."

Mouth Taping Discussion

They actually, so there's a very specific anatomical connection there. But, you know, some people can do mouth taping, and it helps them greatly.

"And if you think about how we're made, it's like the roof of the mouth is the floor of the nose. Okay. So the back of the palate called the palatine bones."

Mouth Taping Discussion

It makes their anesthesia better, makes their recovery better, makes their brain more protected. Give your mouth tape.

"Yeah. Well, what happened to me was I did, so I've done podcasts on mouth taping before. So inevitably, you know, the hostage tape and inhale and respire and all these companies just like sent boxes of nasal strips."

Nasal breathing boosts nitric oxide levels up to 20x vs mouth breathing

A 2019 study in Nitric Oxide Biology and Chemistry showed nasal breathing boosts nitric oxide levels up to 20 times compared to mouth breathing, leading to better circulation and lower blood pressure. Nitric oxide is critical for blood vessel function, brain oxygenation, and immune health.

"A 2019 study in nitric oxide biology and chemistry showed nasal breathing boosts nitric oxide levels up to 20 times compared to mouth breathing. That leads to better circulation and lower blood pressure."

Mouth breathers have 40% higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea

A 2015 study found mouth breathers had a 40% higher likelihood of developing obstructive sleep apnea. Mouth breathing causes the tongue to fall back into the throat, increasing airway resistance, while mouth taping keeps the tongue in its natural resting position against the palate.

"2015 study in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that mouth breathers had a 40% higher likelihood of developing obstructive sleep apnea compared to those out there that breathe from the nose."

Mouth taping reduced nighttime awakenings by 25% in study

A 2021 study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that individuals who practiced nasal breathing through mouth taping experienced a 25% reduction in nighttime awakenings and improved daytime energy levels overall.

"Nasal breathing increases oxygen to the brain. As we know, the memory is stronger. The focus is stronger. Your reaction time is stronger. You're reducing dehydration in the mouth. So now you're retaining moisture, preventing dry mouth, which is one of the leading causes of cavities. It optimizes your lung function. We see that in a journal of applied physiology, 2013. Nasal breathing enhances lung capacity. It improves your oxygen exchange by 10 to 20% compared to mouth breathing. You're going to oxygenate your tissues better. You will be healthier if you're nasal breathing by 10 to 20%. Oxygen is essential for your tissue health. Mouth taping is such a simple tool that actually forces the body to rely on nasal breathing when you sleep, right? You're going to seal the lip shut and the tape prevents that unconscious mouth breathing that people do through the night. So it ensures that air is drawn in through the nose. What are the mechanisms? Well, when you're breathing in through the nose, as mentioned, you increase nitric oxide levels. Nitric oxide, when I tell you, is the molecule, you need high nitric oxide levels. And it's produced in the nasal sinuses. And it plays a super crucial role in expanding your blood vessels, improving oxygen delivery. So if you're breathing through your mouth at night, you're theoretically increasing inflammation because you're not elevating those levels of nitric oxide. A 2019 study in nitric oxide biology and chemistry showed nasal breathing boosts nitric oxide levels up to 20 times compared to mouth breathing. That leads to better circulation and lower blood pressure. But it's not only that. Nasal breathing is going to optimize CO2 levels. And this is important because it's going to help oxygen efficiency. When we breathe through the mouth, we expel way too much carbon dioxide. That's going to lead to less oxygen being delivered to the tissues. You know, I'm serious about training. 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Go to calroy.com slash DRG and save over $50 when you purchase Vasconox and arterial seal bundle. Plus, you get a free canister of two and one nitric oxide test strips. I have them. I still got to do them with a three pack bundle purchase. Visit calroy.com slash DRG is c-a-l-r-o-y.com d-r-g when you're nasal breathing it's actually maintaining the optimal balance of co2 levels it's ensuring that hemoglobin releases oxygen efficiently to the muscles the organs and the brain basically you're optimizing your red blood cells. You're optimizing delivery of oxygen to all those really essential organs. What else? It actually reduces airway collapse and snoring. So I'll go into who shouldn't use mouth tape, but mouth breathing actually causes the tongue to fall back into the throat and it increases airway resistance and it leads to snoring and disrupted sleep. We know that. Whether your partner snores or you snore, we know how it feels. Mouth taping actually ensures that the tongue stays in place in its natural resting position against the palate and it prevents that obstructive collapse of the airway. And we see that. 2015 study in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that mouth breathers had a 40% higher likelihood of developing obstructive sleep apnea compared to those out there that breathe from the nose. And there are scientifically proven benefits of mouth taping. We know in the science, it improves sleep, reduces snoring, nasal breathing is going to decrease that airway resistance. It's going to allow deeper, more restful sleep. Oxygen is flowing. Airways are open. We see that in the 2021 study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine actually found that individuals who practice nasal breathing, who mouth taped, experience a 25% reduction in nighttime awakenings reported. And it improved daytime energy levels overall. It's going to reduce snoring. The 2019 study in sleep and breathing found that mouth taping reduced snoring intensity by an average of 38% in chronic snores. It prevents sleep apnea and enhances oxygenation. Obstructive sleep apnea, we know, is linked to mouth breathing because the airway collapses more easily than when the mouth is open. And in a 2021 study and respiratory medicine, they looked at this. We saw that mouth breathers had a higher apnea score, meaning that they experience more frequent lapses in breathing, right? They're breathing and then they stop breathing. They're breathing and then they stop breathing. But when you close the mouth, nasal breathing is reducing apnea episodes, and you're getting more oxygen levels during sleep. But what about athletic performance? Does actually mouth taping help athletic performance? Well, nasal breathing improves VO2 max, VO2 max being a marker, a huge marker of longevity and mortality, right? If your VO2 max is elevated, you know that you're in a good place as you get older. Now, VO2 max is basically showing us how efficiently is the body using oxygen during exercise. A 2018 study in their International Journal of Kinesiology and Sports Science, they found that athletes who train with nasal breathing for six weeks improve their endurance performance by 15% compared to the mouth breathers. 15% when you train by nasal breathing. And if you don't know this, mouth taping is incredible because it improves oral health and prevents cavities. And mouth breathing may be the cause of your cavities. When you mouth tape, it improves overall health and prevents cavities. When you mouth breathe at night, it's drying out saliva. It's creating that environment where harmful bacteria love to flourish, which leads to tooth decay, gum disease, and bad breath through the day. And we see it in the research. A 2019 study in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation found that mouth breathers had a significantly higher incidence of cavities and periodontal disease due to that chronic dry mouth while y'all be sleeping. And when you mouth tape at night, it prevents this because it keeps saliva production intact. It protects the oral bacteria and reduces that morning breath. Did you know that mouth breathers are typically more stress than nasal breathers? And when you mouth tape, it reduces anxiety and stress by activating that parasympathetic nervous system. When you nasal breathe, it stimulates the vagus nerve and it shifts the body from that fight or flight into that rest, digest, and recover mode. And a 2020 study in Frontiers in Psychology found that mouth breathers had significantly higher levels of cortisol, that stress hormone, compared to those that nasal breathe. When you mouth tape, it reinforces slow, controlled nasal breathing. You'll find that anxiety in your heart rate goes down while improving your overall mental clarity. So who should try mouth taping? Who should avoid it? Well, let's give a thumbs up. People who snore frequently should mouth tape. It helps reduce airway resistance. It keeps the tongue from blocking airflow. People who have mild sleep apnea should use mouth tape. It encourages nasal breathing. It's going to reduce apnea events. Athletes and high performers should use mouth tape. It enhances oxygenation, endurance, recovery. People with dry mouth should use mouth tape, preventing cavities and bad breath, overgrowing the bacteria. People with anxiety or high stress should use mouth tape. It supports calm breathing patterns overall. Who should not use mouth tape? Well, individuals with severe obstructive sleep apnea, if the episodes are severe, the mouth taping can actually worsen the issue. So you got to talk to your doctor first. People with nasal congestion or deviated septums, if you can't breathe through your nose, mouth taping could be a major, major issue. Children under five should not be using mouth taping. Young children should only attempt mouth taping under medical supervision. People with respiratory illnesses should not mouth tape. If you have severe asthma or chronic sinus infections, you got to talk to your doctor before anything. And how do we find a quality mouth tape, right? What do we need to look for? One, look for something that's hypoallergenic adhesive to avoid any skin irritation. You want to make sure it's flexible and breathable. So it allows for jaw movement and maybe some sort of porous breathing through it. Medical grade, you want to use medical grade material to prevent any allergic reactions. The removal shouldn't be aggressive, ripping on the skin or ripping on a beard. You want to make sure that you call the company and ask if they have any PFAS in their adhesive, or if that adhesive is PFAS or any adhesive chemicals or toxic adhesive chemicals free like PFAS. So how do you start doing it safely? Test nasal breathing first. Try breathing only through your nose for 10 minutes while you're awake. If you're uncomfortable, then you got to address that nasal congestion before doing anything. You can start by actually partially taping. Put a small little vertical strip in the center of your lips instead of covering your full mouth. Use a safe mouth tape. Don't use duct tape or non-medical adhesives. I use the X-shaped ones. Those are lightweight and designed for sleep. Monitor your sleep quality. If you have an aura ring or a whoop or any other measurables, if you feel worse when you wake up, headache, dizzy, shortness of breath, mouth taping might be an issue for you too. So mouth taping, is it fact or fiction? It's health fact. Only if it's used correctly though. And based on what we see in the scientific research, the clinical evidence, it's not just a wellness fad. It actually has some real benefit. It can help your sleep quality, snoring, reduction, oral health, even your athletic performance, even stress, right? So it may work. It might not be for everyone, especially we spoke about severe apnea, nasal congestion, deviated septum. It can do more harm than good if you're doing that, but make the choice for yourself. I've been mouth taping for five years now, four years now. I haven't had any cavities, which is really crazy. So, um, and I did have many of them every year. I didn't understand why I was eating so healthy, but mouth taping was really potent and beautiful. Anyway, mouth tape, if you feel called to it, but talk to your doctor, don't do it. If you any of the contraindications. And thank you for listening to this episode of Heal Myself."