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Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley CA
How you breathe matters, especially when you sleep. If you often breathe through your mouth, your body absorbs a lower quantity of oxygen. You also face several health risks as a consequence of mouth breathing, including obstructive sleep apnea. Luckily, dentists with specialized training can treat this mouth breathing. Read on as we explain how Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry can use the Buteyko breathing method to curtail mouth breathing and improve your sleep.
The risks of mouth breathing
Just 20 to 30 minutes of mouth breathing can lower oxygen levels in the body—and many people who mouth breathe do so for multiple hours, especially while they sleep.
Frequent mouth breathing encourages several negative consequences in the body such as:
- Additional growth of an existing malignant tumor
- Multiplication of harmful bacteria in the sinuses for patients with sinusitis
- Damage to the heart muscle
- Inflammation of the GI tract
- Spread of skin pathogens such as eczema and psoriasis
You probably do not even know if you are breathing through the mouth, as this is an unconscious habit—especially if you are doing it when you sleep. Determining this is rather simple; if you have a dry mouth when you wake up in the morning, then it is very likely you are engaging in mouth breathing. Other symptoms of mouth breathing include a stuffy nose, frequent coughing and even fatigue. Mouth breathing also is considered a precursor to snoring and, with it, a sleep breathing disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea.
The Buteyko method
This is a holistic, drug-free treatment used to curtail mouth breathing. Our staff at our office in Scotts Valley includes a Buteyko Breathing educator who helps teach the patient to breathe correctly through the nose with the lips sealed. In combination with this instruction, the Buteyko method entails taping the mouth shut with 3M paper tape, thus preventing you from breathing through the mouth and instead breathing as recommended through the nose.
Nasal breathing provides superior oxygenation of the blood; breaths are slower and more shallow and produce more carbon dioxide, aiding the body’s ability to absorb oxygen. It also produces higher quantities of nitric oxide, which aids in killing negative bacteria, dilating arteries and reducing stress.
It is important to remember that any form of mouth taping only should be used as a temporary measure to curtail mouth breathing.
While mouth taping, you can incorporate some environmental changes to your sleeping environment.
These include:
Avoid sleeping on the back – When you lie on your back, your breathing becomes almost twice as heavy, making it difficult to pump the proper amount of air solely through the nose.
Cooling down – Overly warm sleeping conditions make your breaths deeper and bigger during the night. Use fewer warm blankets and wear fewer warm clothes to prevent overheating.
Change your bedding – If you have dusty pillowcases, blankets, and sheets, this can have the same effect on your respiratory system as bedroom carpeting. The same applies for any books, newspapers, hanging clothes, and curtains. Keep your bedroom as clean as possible to improve the air quality. You also can improve the air quality by opening windows at night or buying an air purifier to run while you sleep.
Correcting mouth breathing in Los Gatos, Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley in California
Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry may prescribe a course of myofunctional therapy as a follow-up to the Buteyko method. This entails performing a series of simple, comfortable exercises that work the muscles of the mouth and face, in conjunction with the tongue. Completed daily with regularity, these orofacial exercises encourage the optimum oral resting posture – with lips closed, teeth closed and the tongue resting gently against the roof of the mouth. This posture also facilitates breathing through the nose, rather than the mouth.
To find out more about how we can treat mouth breathing and improve your quality of sleep, schedule a consultation by calling (831) 438-4411 or contacting us online.
