Mouth Taping: Transparency about why it is bad!
The concept of mouth taping has become very popular in the past few years, even trending on different social media platforms like TikTok. But what is it used for?
Mouth taping is the process of taping your lips closed during sleep to decrease snoring and mouth breathing. Ultimately, people began mouth taping to encourage breathing to occur through the nose rather than the mouth in hopes to eliminate the repercussions that occur when one breathes through their mouth during sleep.
The process typically involves using a piece of tape to seal to top and bottom lips closed, sometimes completely sealing the lips shut from any possible air flow.
Many believe that by taping the mouth shut during sleep, one is forced to breathe through their nose, eliminating problems such as sleep apnea and snoring. Additionally, since it has been scientifically proven that nasal breathing is generally better for overall health, many people use mouth taping to force nasal breathing.
Breathing through the nose, rather the mouth, is essential from proper filtration, humidification, and warming of the air passing through the body. Breathing through the nose also encourages better respiratory efficiency and promotes more successful exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide within the body.
So you would think mouth taping would essentially be beneficial to someone that is prone to mouth breathing, right? Unfortunately this is not the case and here is why.
Mouth taping while sleeping can be extremely dangerous. Here at Beverly Hills Rhinoplasty Center, Dr. Deepak Dugar, famous rhinoplasty surgeon and otolaryngologist, highly suggests to avoid mouth taping.
Taping your mouth closed when you sleep can pose as a safety risk. If nasal breathing is obstructed while your mouth is taped shut, this can lead to possible suffocation or decreased exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body. This can be extremely dangerous and detrimental to one’s health.
Additionally, mouth taping is not a long term solution and can lead to dependency to the taping in order to breath through the nose.
Not only can mouth taping be harmful to one’s health, it may also cause a person to overlook underlying issues that are affecting the obstruction of nasal breathing. Congestion or blocked nasal passages can be due to a plethora of underlying conditions in which a medical professional is needed to carefully asses and diagnose.
Some of these underlying conditions include inflammation and mucus production due to allergens, inflamed or blocked sinuses, or deviation of the nasal septum. Instead of mouth taping, it is recommended that you see an ear, nose, and throat doctor if you are having difficulty breathing through your nose.
An ENT will be be able to carefully diagnose any underlying problem causing nasal blockage.
If you are aware that you have a deviated nasal septum, it is crucial that you do not tape your mouth while sleeping. A deviation in the nasal septum compromises air flow through the nose, typically making it more difficult to breath through one or both nostrils. It is advised that you consult with a rhinoplasty expert, such as Dr. Dugar, to see if a septoplasty would be beneficial.
If you are having difficulty breathing through your nose, or are aware that you have a deviated septum, we advise speaking to a medical professional to see what is the best plan of action for you! Dr. Dugar and our concierge staff is happy to address any questions or concerns you may have about your breathing. To learn more, please feel free to visit our website www.scarlessnose.com or contact our office with any questions you may have!
