Prolonged mouth breathing during the night can result in uncomfortable symptoms or even worsening health issues. Although most people breathe through their noses when they sleep, there are several reasons why people might sleep with their mouths open. Mouth open while sleeping could be a learned behavior, a transient reaction to nasal congestion, or a sign of an underlying medical issue.
Read More: Mouth Breathing Sleep Aid
Dangers of Opening Your Mouth While Sleeping
Sometimes sleeping with your mouth open, like when you have a common cold, might not be too harmful to your health. On the other hand, repeated mouth breathing can lead to a number of issues.
Sleeping with your mouth open can lead to chronic dry mouth, which can lead to dental and other health issues. Individuals who experience persistent dry mouth are more susceptible to cavities, gum disease, and enamel erosion.
People who have dry mouths are more likely to get frequent yeast infections in their mouths because saliva is necessary to maintain a clean and healthy mouth. Severe dry mouth patients may also have trouble eating and speaking.
Studies on children who breathe through their mouths on a regular basis have observed changes to the mouth and face over time, especially in those with swollen adenoids. Nevertheless, inconsistent findings have been found in the research on the relationship between mouth breathing and these facial features.
Indications of Open Mouth Sleeping
Dry mouth can be brought on by prolonged mouth breathing, especially in arid climates. Dry mouth during the night or right after waking up could indicate that you were sleeping with your mouth open.
Maintaining oral health requires saliva. It dissolves food, maintains teeth health, and is necessary for swallowing. It also keeps the tongue and gums moist. Cracked lips and bad breath can result from dry mouth during the night. Dry mouth over time can cause tooth decay and make eating difficult.
Sleeping with the mouth open has also been connected to runny noses and sore throats in addition to dry mouth. Individuals who sleep with their mouths open while using positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy for sleep apnea may have air leaks, which could lessen the treatment’s effectiveness.
What Leads to Nighttime Mouth Breathing?
Although it may be habitual for people to sleep with their mouths open, nighttime mouth breathing can also indicate a problem with normal breathing, especially if it is accompanied by snoring.
One common cause of mouth breathing is congestion or blockage in the nose. This could be either a transient congestion brought on by a cold or a persistent congestion brought on by allergies or asthma. Objects that small children sometimes jam into their noses can obstruct one or both sides of the nasal passages. Additionally, breathing through the nose can be hampered by large growths in the lining called polyps, which can cause mouth breathing.
An indication of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) could be mouth breathing. Swollen adenoids, or glands in the back of the nose and throat, are a common cause of open airways syndrome (OSA) in children. Because they have trouble breathing through their noses, many kids with swollen adenoids sleep with their mouths open.
Mouth breathing can occasionally result from modifications to the nose and mouth’s anatomical structure. One nostril may become blocked by a deviated septum, which is the term for a crooked or bent wall separating the two nostrils. This can cause mouth breathing and snoring. If a person finds it difficult to close their mouth completely, misaligned teeth may also contribute to mouth breathing.
Tips for Quitting Open Mouth Sleeping
Identifying and treating the cause is often the best way to stop sleeping with your mouth open. Humidifiers and nasal saline sprays, for instance, may lessen nasal congestion that causes mouth breathing. Following treatment for allergies, asthma, or sinus infections, mouth breathing caused by these conditions may improve.
The Mouth Taping Technique
In order to prevent snoring and promote nasal breathing, some professionals advise using mouth tape. Taping the mouth shut or covering it with a soft patch at night is known as mouth taping.
There aren’t many studies on mouth taping, but one little study found that using a soft patch over the mouth while sleeping reduced participants’ snoring, daytime sleepiness, and breathing disturbances.
Strips for the nose
Another choice for people who might require assistance breathing through their nose at night is nasal strips. Nasal strips are sticky strips that adhere to the nose bridge and draw the nostrils outward with the help of springs.
These strips have been shown in some studies to lessen nasal congestion and enhance the quality of sleep. The results of the research, however, have been mixed. According to other research, nasal strips had no effect on nasal congestion, poor sleep, or breathing during sleep disturbances.
Position for Sleeping
Changing the way you sleep could help reduce mouth breathing by opening your nasal airway. For some OSA sufferers, sleeping on their side or upright may help clear their airways.
For those who struggle to sleep on their sides or upright, supportive pillows, customized backpacks, body position sensors with alarms, or tennis balls fastened to the back may be of assistance.
Operation
In order to treat their medical conditions, some people who suffer from severe complications from chronic mouth breathing may require surgery. When large nasal polyps obstruct the airway, surgical removal is required. Swollen adenoids in children usually do not require treatment, but if they cause severe symptoms, some doctors may advise having them removed.
When to Consult a Physician
When a newborn is observed sleeping with their mouth open, parents or other caregivers should consult a doctor right away because the infant may be experiencing severe breathing problems.
Additionally, if a child starts snoring and mouth breathing, parents or other caregivers should consult a doctor. This is especially important if the child starts wetting the bed after not doing so previously, has morning headaches, or struggles to focus. These could be indicators of OSA (obstructive sleep apnea).
If the shape of their child’s face changes or if the child has trouble closing their mouth, parents or other caregivers of children with swollen adenoids should speak with the doctors.
Individuals who experience severe symptoms of dry mouth, such as trouble speaking or swallowing, mouth pain, cavities, or gum disease, should consult a physician or dentist about available treatment options.