Taping my mouth (not a typo)

[Ritterskoop]

This is what I’m doing for two weeks, although my tape is a smaller piece that runs vertically.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/sleep/mo ... ter-sleep/

The nostril dilators are springy wings that fit in your nose and gently expand the nostrils open.

https://mutesnoring.com/

The first test is to see if just using these reveals anything. Some people can’t breathe with these (I can, while I’m awake, anyway), which means they have to go straight to the ENT.

Based on our first test (a thing I wore overnight that measured pulse and oxygen), I have only mild sleep apnea; the issues we are looking to correct have to do with the shape of the jaw and skull.

Modern skulls are very different from those even 100 years ago, and a lot of us are turning into mouth-breathers, especially when we sleep.

The Seattle protocol is a dental approach rather than a surgical or CPAP approach. There are six steps and about three months to the protocol, so we'll see how it plays. If none of it works, then he sends me to an ENT for evaluation for surgery or CPAP. I never thought I had a sleep issue so I doubt it gets that far.

One paper I read suggested that about half of today's ADD and ADHD teens and young adults would feel better if they would tape their mouths shut so they could nose-breathe all night, and then they could stay alert during the day.

[Beebs52]

I'm confused. If you dint think you had a sleep issue why are you doing this?

[Estonut]

I assume you've tried

Spoiler

I know that a lot of people have gotten relief from congestion and/or snoring by using them.

[Ritterskoop]

I have jaw fit problems.

We are trying to re-set the tongue and jaw without surgery, and the first step is to discourage mouth breathing, even during sleep.

[Ritterskoop]

Thanks, Esto. I have no congestion nor snoring issues. I did try those for 5K races, but they always get sweaty and have to come off. These interior springy things work much better for opening up the nasal airway.

I wish I could draw a picture here, but am not that smart. Imagine a triangle, with the top corner being the nose, and the bottom corners being the outside edges of the airway over the roof of the mouth. Now, press the bottom side of the triangle up into the middle of the space, so that what remains looks like a V pointing down. The airway is half as large as it should be, because the roof of the mouth has been pushed up in there because the tongue isn't doing what it's supposed to.

We are trying to retrain the tongue to not push up in there as much, but also not to stay lying on the bottom of the mouth.

The alternative is to let them remove a piece of one bone, and move another bone forward, and break the septum and reposition it, and a lot of other unpleasant stuff that would then ALSO require braces. I am 52, and not doing that. Did it already.

Th dentist describes the whole situation as a box that is too small for the amount of stuff that is inside it.

Ooh, I got this in one of the long read newsletters, for those who are interested in the skulls changing from 100 years ago:

https://onezero.medium.com/our-skulls-a ... 50faed696d

[Beebs52]

Oh man. I hope this works. Yipes.

[kayrharris]

A most interesting treatment and I sure hope it works! Good luck!

kay

[T_Bone0806]

Adding my wishes from a successful outcome, my friend!