Mouth breathing has been shown to increase acidity and dryness in the mouth, linking it to cavities, demineralisation of the teeth and gum disease. A growing body of research also suggests mouth breathing as a child can affect the development of your teeth and jaw, leading to crooked teeth and even changing the shape of your face.
“It’s simple. Your nose is for breathing and your mouth is for eating,” Kearney says. For some people with seriously deviated septums or other nasal obstruction, nose breathing isn’t an option. But she says a lot of mouth breathers can choose the nasal route in many circumstances. “It may not be comfortable at first. The shift from mouth to nasal breathing can be an adjustment,” But, Kearney says, the perks kick in with each breath.
The nose at night
Most healthy people breathe through their noses when they sleep, but some open their mouths in a nocturnal quest for air. That’s bad news, Kearney says. “It’s about the position of the tongue.”
Kearney says you can get a feel for this yourself. When your mouth is closed you’re more likely to keep the tip of your tongue pressed to the roof of your mouth and the back of your tongue relaxed, opening up your airway. But stop reading for a second, let your mouth hang open and slacken the muscles in your face. You’ll probably notice your tongue rolls towards your throat, especially if you lean your head back.
“That can restrict the airflow and cause some obstruction,” Kearney says. You might even hear something that sounds like snoring if you breathe as you try this.
People with obstructed noses tend to breathe through their mouths when they sleep, a phenomenon that often contributes to sleep apnoea. The condition affects an estimated one billion people, as much as 50% of the population in some countries. At best, sleep apnoea worsens your quality of life. At worst, its effects may be as dramatic as an early death.
Even if you don’t have sleep apnoea, nighttime mouth breathing can cause snoring and all the drawbacks described above. But across the internet, health and wellness influencers are raving about a controversial remedy for this problem: mouth tape. It’s exactly what it sounds like. You use a piece of tape to keep your mouth shut or even completely sealed. In theory, this forces you to breathe through your nose while you sleep. However, some experts warn there are serious risks to consider.
Kearney swears by mouth tape but says it may make breathing more difficult for some people. The only way to know if you’re one of them is to see a doctor – do not try this at home without seeking advice from a medical professional first. “If you snore, have difficulty breathing through your nose or have any reason to think you might have sleep apnoea, you need to see an ENT [ear, nose and throat doctor],” she says.
The risks of mouth tape
Some people breath through their mouths when they’re asleep, which can be an indication of a serious medical condition such as obstructive sleep apnoea. Tape that forces you to breathe through your nose could help certain people – but so far, there hasn’t been enough research, and it could make problems worse in some cases.
“If people have moderate or severe sleep apnoea, those episodes where you open your mouth to breath at night are probably important for returning their oxygen levels back to normal, and I usually advise them not to try mouth tape,” says Jacquelyn Callander, an ear, nose and throat doctor at the University of California, San Francisco.
“There are a lot of patients who have no idea that they have a problem,” she says, so it’s important to see a doctor before you try tape.
The practice of mouth taping is still in its infancy. Many ear, nose and throat doctors say there hasn’t been enough research into its efficacy or safety. A few early studies suggest it might be helpful, though none are definitive. For example, one study of 20 people in Taiwan found mouth tape significantly improved sleep apnoea and snoring, but the researchers said the small sample size and lack of a control group limited their conclusions.
“So far we don’t have great objective evidence that mouth tape helps decrease sleep apnoea or improves breathing at night,” Callander says. “But it’s low-cost and may be beneficial.” She believes that mouth taping shows real promise, but agrees it calls for medical advice. If you’re thinking of trying it, step one is to talk to a sleep specialist or an ENT.
What you can try, however, is nose strips that hold your nostrils open from the outside, Callander says. “Some people have what’s called ‘nasal valve collapse’, where inhaling causes negative pressure in your nasal cavity. For those people, nasal strips can help.” Some people even wear them while they exercise. However, if you have a deviated septum or enlarged turbinates, like I did, nose strips probably won’t help, she says.