It is fairly common for people with obstructive sleep apnea to breathe through their mouths.
Learn whether this is possible and discover what accommodations might allow you to use CPAP without difficulty.
This decreases evaporation that can contribute to dry mouth.
nicolesy / E+ / Getty Images
It also strengthens the muscles of the upper airway, including those that line the throat.
If you have difficulty breathing through your nose, the default option is to breathe through your mouth.
Many people with sleep apnea have an obstruction within the nose that leads to increased mouth breathing.
What are the effects of this?
Over time,persistent mouth breathingmay cause changes in our airways anatomy.
The muscles of the jaw relax to allow the mouth to be open.
The tissues lining the nasal passage may also become swollen with the vibration of snoring.
In some cases, this may cause the nasal passage to close further.
As a result, it becomes even more difficult to breathe through the nose and more mouth breathing occurs.
This can worsen sleep apnea as well as snoring.
This may require some accommodations.
Nasal obstruction may be relieved by treating allergies or with surgery to treat a deviated septum.
Allergy treatment can be initiated by your primary care doctor,sleep specialist, or by an allergist.
It may be helpful to use saline sprays or even sinus rinses delivered through a Neti pot.
Oral medications may be used to treat allergic rhinitis.
Nasal steroid sprays can also be helpful.
Some are now available over the counter without a prescription, including Nasacort and Flonase.
Adjust it to maximize the amount of moisture delivered to your nose.
It can also be helpful to useheated tubingto avoid condensation within the tubing.
If your mouth falls open with a nasal mask, you may experience extreme dry mouth.
You may awake in the morning with your tongue as dry as the Sahara desert.
If this happens consistently, consider using achinstrapto support your jaw and keep your mouth closed.
In addition, you may consider switching to a full-face mask that covers both your nose and mouth.
This will prevent air from escaping from your mouth as it will all be on the same circuit.
Occasional dryness may be tolerated.
Simply drinking a little water or using rinses like Biotene to improve oral dryness may be used.
You should not need to drink water in the night or wake with a parched mouth in the morning.
If it is a frequent problem, this dryness could lead to damage to your teeth or gums.
Mouth breathing weakens airway anatomy and can cause breathing to stop and start repeatedly through the night.
A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine provides a steady flow of oxygen into your nose.
The easiest way to keep your mouth closed while using a CPAP machine is to use a chin strap.
The mask prevents air from escaping from your mouth and also helps to prevent dry mouth.
2018;51(2):1701419. doi:10.1183/13993003.01419-2017
Leboulanger N.Nasal obstruction in children.Eur Ann Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Dis.
2017;39(12):2410-2419. doi:10.1016/j.clinthera.2017.10.006
Wheatley LM, Togias A.Clinical practice.
Allergic rhinitis.N Engl J Med.
2018;14(1):101-108. doi:10.5664/jcsm.6892
