Benefits of Mouth Taping

I frequently comment on what benefit there can be to mouth taping while using a nasal or nasal pillow mask. It think it is a very good alternative to switching to a full face mask. While a full face mask solves the air leakage from the mouth, it often encourages mouth breathing in the mask which can lead to a dry or sore throat.

My wife finally agreed to try the mouth taping as she was having major leaks and sore throat issues with her nasal pillow mask. That was about 6 weeks ago. In looking at her Overview page in SleepyHead, I noticed what sure looked like a significant reduction in her frequency of obstructive apnea. She started mouth taping on November 14, and there is a quite obvious reduction in the light blue portion of the AHI stacked bar chart, which is the obstructive part. Here is a screenshot:

I took a look at the underlying numbers for the last 6 weeks and compared them to the previous 6 weeks without mouth taping. The AHI has been reduced by more than 50%, and the obstructive apnea has been reduced by about 75%. It has made a big difference in obstructive apnea frequency. Hypopnea and central apnea are unchanged. One person does not make a study, but there sure seems to be some benefit to the mouth taping. Her machine settings have not been changed for months, so that is not a factor.

In any case if you are interested here is a link to the video by the dentist that finally convinced her to try it.

Mouth Taping for a Better Sleep

I have never used a chin strap and I have never been able to get a full mask to work without significant leaking but I am beginning to wake with a dry mouth so I have very reluctantly added a chin strap and tape to my shopping list.

I'm still not sure if I will actually use it but I guess it's a smart move to have it on hand anyway.

Ok Sierra thanks I just might try that.

Maybe I should get that pink CPAP with the pink headgear. It seems like your wife and I have a lot in common, well at least as far as CPAP is concerned. :)

Back to the subject on hand. Yes mouth taping might be a good idea! :O

Sierra, I held off for a long time using mouth taping as it seemed a bit extreme, but after reading your link and trying it out, it seems to work well. I'm also a mouth breather who found the nasal pillow mask the most comfortable to use. My original AHI from an in-house VA study was 15. I got it down to 2-4 using a chin strap, but couldn't get it lower because the corner of my mouth was still opening slightly. Now that I am using both the chin strap and mouth taping my AHI is usually less than 1. Thanks for the tip.

Sorry Bigly gremlin, didn't mean to steal your thread. Just wanted to 2nd Sierra on the advantages of mouth taping.

I can see how that might be the case. (The tape working better for women)

It's been a long time since I shaved regularly and the last time I shaved of an evening there were dinosaurs frolicking around outside.

So I was wondering if this tape might work better for me?

Super Stick Permanent Mouth Tape

It would resolve the stubble issues and help me lose weight too and it is kind of pinkish :)

Seriously. Don't try this at home! (Elastoplast)

New guy here. So is this tape just masking tape you tape over your mouth or some special tape for sleep apnea?

Thanks, Gerry

Wow! Thanks for sharing this information! I have heard of it but love the video explanation!

I have been using 2" wide blue masking tape. It works very well and it is easy to remove. I used Johnson & Johnson paper tape for several years and found it to be much stickier than the blue masking tape. With both tapes it is important to wash with soap around your mouth to get the oil off so the tape will stick better.

My sleep apnea tech almost had a fit when I told her I was using tape because she said if you get sick and vomit, you could choke to death. I make sure I fold on end over about 1/8" for a "handle" to get it off easier.

Many consider taping to be dangerous and I have found it is both controversial and effective. The concept is to seal the lips to prevent air from escaping. It is not to keep the mouth closed. The tape I recommend is any tape intended for application to human skin. Why? because those tapes are the least likely to cause skin irritation. I am personally an advocate of taping.

Other solutions Mouth Breathing is when you open your mouth and the air pressure from your PAP is venting out your mouth typically showing on your charts as a large leak which can substantially negate the effectiveness of your therapy. It is generally not good. The solution varies depending on the person

With SleepyHead look at your Leak Rate graph where it is shaded (large leak/ LL), flat tops on this graph suggest mouth breathing. In SleepyHead right click on the left header of the Leak Rate graph and click on Dotted Lines then select "Leak Rate Upper Threshold" to get a line across the graph for ResMed. Manually set the value for Philips Respironics. Severity depends on how much over this threshold and for how long it is in the Large Leak territory.

How to manage Mouth Breathing, not in any particular order.

Tongue Trick. Place the tongue on the roof of the mouth, Practice during the daytime. The idea is to train the tongue that this is a good place to be, not overnight, but it works for some.

Cervical Collar. A "soft" Cervical Collar. This helps support and align the neck and keeps the jaw/mouth from dropping. This is becoming a very popular option. Rarely used prior to mid 2016. Users are posting a high success rate with this device. When OA tends to occur in clusters at different times of night. It's an indication that an obstruction may have occurred when the chin tucks towards the chest. It's common, and the solution is either an ergonomic pillow or soft cervical collar that prevents the neck and head from being out of alignment and cutting off the airway, but they can be comfortable, prevent leaks and prevent an airway from closing up due to tucking your chin to chest and other issues.

Fit: You are looking for a comfortable fit 2-inches larger than the circumference of your neck and just tall enough to support the jaw when your head falls out of alignment (measure your neck from collarbone to jaw and subtract 1". It's a very small investment that has worked very well for some people. More pressure may solve the obstruction, or it might go away with positional therapy.

Chin Strap. A chin strap is to manage mouth leaks from a variety of causes. Most result from the jaw dropping or opening either partially or wider. The chin strap is to gently keep the jaw closed. If you have to crank it shut to make it work this is not the correct solution. Note that your jaw is strong enough to open if it wants to. There is one chinstrap that is notably different than others, the Ultimate Chinstrap, Search for it if you desire.

Ergonomic Pillow or CPAP Pillow, The purpose being to maintain a proper head and neck alignment while allowing for the mask maintaing the seal in multiple positions.

Mouth Guard The concept here is a closed mouth guard to keep the air from leaking out.

Taping. Definitely the most controversial. The purpose of taping is to seal the lips and prevent mouth leaks / mouth breathing. It is not to stop the mouth from opening. I make sure that I can easily open my mouth, when taped, if I need to.

FFM – Full Face Mask or Hybrid Mask. This is a very traditional solution and it is generally effective.

Dry mouth is a symptom mouth breathing that is uncomfortable. It can and does occur with some users of a Full Face Mask.

Many users use a product called Biotene to get relief from this symptom.

Thank you for your post. As an advocate of the work of MyApnea.org and as The Sleep Ambassador®, www.thesleepambassador.com, I am on a quest to help people sleep better and to raise awareness and foster a call to action for those at risk for sleep apnea (as well as other sleep disorders). As for mouth taping, thank you to Dr. Burhenne for conveying the importance of nasal breathing and how/why mouth taping can help. I mouth tape, along with wearing my oral appliance for mild sleep apnea. I initially used paper tape (for me, 3M's "Nexcare Sensitive Skin" was the most gentle) as in Dr. Burhenne's video. That said, I was happy to learn that there are alternatives to using paper tape, strips actually designed for the express purpose of mouth taping. I find them superior to paper tape and very effective. The ones I use are called SomniFix. Full disclosure, I consult to the company. And if mouth taping sounds unappealing to you for whatever reason, try paper tape or the strips first during the day or evening to get used to them and, as Dr. Burhenne suggests, to see if you can breathe through your nose and are comfortable. There is also a small "vent" on the Somnifix strips which can help adapt to mouth taping, although ultimately you do not want to breathe through your mouth. For my lip structure, I need to curl my lips in ever so slightly to alleviate the SomniFix vent from allowing air flow through my mouth when I am using the strips for sleep. Here's to a great night's sleep and nasal breathing. And here is an article I wrote about proper breathing: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/are-you-breathing-properly-are-your-children/ Sweet dreams, Nancy

I hate to be a discordant note here but I think you've all missed the primary benefit of this radical approach.

You fetch out that neatly tagged roll of tape every night right?

And use that designer tag to remove it at first light right?

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

That lame ineffective method was all the fashion for a brief moment in time but there have been dramatic advances in the science of taping since those dark old days.

The latest tapes are all slow release. They take more time to be really effective.

Researchers have concluded that if you REALLY want the maximum benefit from that $3 roll of tape you MUST apply it no later than half way through your evening meal and you must NOT remove it until at least midday the following day!

I am assured that if you use this new improved advanced latest revised refined upgraded method you will eventually eliminate the need of taping altogether!

Just trying to be helpful folks!

There's no need to be like that! :P

Just as an update I tried the 3M 2" Micropore tape for two nights now. The first night I used it with my BreatheWear Chin Strap. I got very low leakage. Last night I tried it without the chin strap, and it wasn't so good. It was 2.7% over the leak redline, which isn't a disaster, but not great either. Much of the night was spend just under the leak redline. I am not going to give up on using it alone yet, but it is looking like a chin strap may still be in my future. In any case the 2" tape is better than the 1" I was getting at Walmart, and is nearly the same price. As a mouth tape I recommend it. It does not seem to be available at Walmart or the other larger drug stores, but we found a medical supply place locally that has it by the boxes.

I thought this was a particularly succinct article.

Stress, what does this word mean to you?

A quick read with lots of good advice.

hello, I can't use nasal pillows due to allergies and nasal congestion but I really wish I could as the full face mask makes me claustrophobic! however, I'm not sure how people can breathe out through their nose while they have the nasal pillows?
I'm hoping to learn a lot from this forum as I basically have untreated sleep apnea and life has been miserable due to lack of sleep :( jim

txmnjim: Try an Amara View mask. it is a Hybrid mask that sits under the nose and around the mouth designed so nasal breathing enters the mask. you could easily wear even very bulky glasses with this one.

That said I used to say that every pap user should have a full face mask for the very reasons you just cited. Can you normally breathe out thru your nose with your mouth shut? If so you should be able to use the nasal pillow mask. What happens when I am badly congested is I initially do a lot of mouth breathing just trying to breathe thru my nose, after a few minutes, rarely 10 the CPAP pressure is just too much for the congestion to hold back and there is a breakthrough. From that point on I have no problem until I wake up and I ask myself, "How the H*** did I use this thing thru the night. It has never failed me, but getting to that breakthrough is not easy, is if hard.

Just as an update, I think I have finally found the mouth taping solution to keeping my mouth closed without using a chin strap. I tried using the 10 cm x 6 cm Mefix tape and it was not enough. I found it lost adhesion during the night due to saliva from my mouth. It does not seem to have as much moisture resistance as the 3M Micropore tape has. So, what I did is put a small strip of 1" 3M Micropore tape horizontally over my lips to keep my mouth sealed, and then covered that over with the 10 cm x 6 cm Mefix tape. The Mefix tape has stronger adhesion as long as it is not wet, and is much more flexible. The combination of the two tapes makes it stay on pretty much perfectly during the night with no leaks. Net result is I have stopped wearing a chin strap, which is a welcome change!

That sounds good. I have started mouth taping with my oral device. It works well and I no longer get dry mouth. Don't have to use chin strap, like I did with my nasal pillow CPAP mask. If I get tired of my oral device, I may try a wider tape with my CPAP.

I tried, but didn't like taping mouth. It left a "clammy feeling" in my mouth in AM. I'm trying a Dreamwear Full Face with hose attached at top of head frame starting tonight.