Is it bad to sleep with your mouth open?

Sometimes when we wake up we notice dryness in the mouth, as if the saliva were thicker than normal, normally this sensation is accompanied by hoarseness in the throat.

The sensation of dry mouth when waking up is often caused by sleeping with your mouth open, and it is an indicative sign that you are probably not breathing in a correct way during sleep. It is normal to have a dry mouth from time to time, but if this situation repeats itself frequently after it rings the alarm clock, it is possible that instead of through your nose you are breathing only through your mouth during the course of the night.

Bad breath can have a negative impact on your health, it prevents the natural absorption of oxygen from the blood to the brain and muscles, which causes a whole series of problems and conditions, the fact of breathing through the mouth during sleep also affects oral health, since it decreases the amount of saliva that helps, among other important functions, to combat cavities.

If we have to respond briefly to

the frequently asked question of whether it is bad to sleep with your mouth openThe answer is no, you should not sleep with your mouth open. In this article we will expand and argue this negative verdict by exploring the causes of sleeping with your mouth open and how it affects both oral health and that of the rest of our body.

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How sleeping with your mouth open affects breathing

The fact of sleeping with the mouth open is considered problematic for health professionals, since has a negative impact on oral and general health. This is because sleeping with your mouth open usually means that instead of using nasal breathing, we use mouth breathing during the night.

Through nasal breathing, the body is provided with the oxygen necessary for its survival and to maintain all its functions, in addition, thanks to correct breathing, some waste is released from the body and carbon dioxide is expelled.

Nitric oxide, also called nitrogen monoxide, is a gas produced by cells lining the inside of the air passages in the nose, sinuses, and bronchi. When we breathe correctly, that is, through the nose, we produce more of this gas, when we breathe through the mouth we do not produce this gas.

Nitric oxide fulfills two fundamental functions in respiration. First of all, this gas has a dilating effect on the airways, this means that it opens them up and thus reduces the resistance that oppose the blood vessels of the lungs to the passage of blood through them, also improves the ability to exchange gases. The main consequence is that the blood carries more oxygen when breathing through the nose thanks to nitric oxide and it is also easier to transport it to the rest of the body.

One study showed that nasal breathing increases the amount of oxygen consumption by 10 to 20 percent compared to mouth breathing.

Nasal breathing also has other important functions in the body: it relaxes vascular smooth muscle cells and allows blood vessels to dilate, it is an important process for the proper functioning of the system immune. They can also be added as functions of breathing through the nose that help the immune system: the filtering of small particles in the air thanks to the hairs known medically as vibrissae, moistening the air and heating it so that it reaches the lungs at the correct temperature and prevents dryness.

When we breathe through the mouth, all these functions cease to be performed, therefore, it is considered poor breathing: nitric oxide is not formed and less oxygen reaches our systems. In addition, the air is neither humidified, nor heated, nor is it filtered, which arrives with a greater number of pathogens and with conditions that can cause infections. Actually, mouth breathing acts as a kind of life insurance, that is, is activated when it is impossible to breathe through the nose, but it is not a function that corresponds to this system.

This survival mechanism is not without risk. If prolonged over time, the adverse effects of mouth breathing can cause from small damage to the teeth, usually cavities, to diseases that affect the system cardiovascular.

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Sleeping with your mouth open and the consequences on oral health

A recent study indicated that sleeping with your mouth open may be even worse for dental health than regular consumption of sugary drinks, something that many dentists do not know. Below we describe the most common conditions that affect our oral health when we breathe through our mouths.

1. Cavities

As we know, saliva is essential for the health of the mouth and teethOn the one hand, it has a substance known as lysozyme that helps fight bacteria and on the other hand it contains minerals that help us to have healthier teeth, among other functions.

When the amount of saliva in the mouth decreases in saliva, the pH of dental plaque decreases, increasing the amount of harmful bacteria. This greatly increases the risk of cavities and, in the worst case, can lead to tooth loss.

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2. Dryness

By breathing through the mouth and entering the airflow, saliva that is wet dries up, that's why we have that pasty sensation when we sleep with our mouths open, fluid is also lost due to evaporation, causing dry mouth and lips. This can have serious consequences, such as difficulty swallowing and decreased salivary protection, as well as being very uncomfortable.

3. Bad breath

Bad breath is known by the name of halitosis and is characterized by changes in the breath (breath) that are unpleasant for the affected individual and those around him. Breathing through the mouth is associated with halitosis, since, as we have mentioned in the previous points, the reduction in the amount of saliva affects the mouth's ability to clean itself, which leads to an increase in bacterial flora and causes bad breath.

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4. Deformation of the dental arches

Dental arches refer to groups of teeth, which as we can see form an arch. In development, the head, skull, and jaw adapt to our breathing patterns, if instead of by nose we breathe through the mouth, the dental arches will be affected and this causes a domino effect on the lips, tongue and palate. Normally, people who breathe through their mouths have a shorter face, crowded teeth, narrow nostrils, a smaller jaw, and/or stiff lips.

5. impaired swallowing

Swallowing refers to the passage of food or other substances from the mouth to the stomach. In the case of mouth breathing, this can alter the abnormal swallowing. When your mouth is dry, you may push your tongue forward to swallow instead of closing your mouth. Also, when you breathe through your mouth, you swallow a lot more air, which can affect stomach reflux.

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Its effects on general health

As we have already explained, mouth breathing does not allow as much oxygen to reach the lungs, and, therefore, to the rest of the systems. This behavior also disrupts sleep, which as we know from experience, plays an essential role in our physical, but also mental well-being. These two conditions resulting from sleeping with your mouth open can increase your risk of a wide variety of general health problems as you age, including:

• Obstructive sleep apnea (sleep disorder in which the airways become partially or completely blocked, interrupting breathing)
• sleep disordered breathing
• Respiratory infections
• Asthma
• allergies
• Decreased immune function
• Cardiovascular diseases
• type 2 diabetes
• liver problems
• Depression
• infertility
• Brain abnormalities and cognitive impairment

Common causes of sleeping with your mouth open

Breathing through the mouth instead of the nose is often a consequence, suffer from some type of allergy that involves congestion (such as hay fever) swollen tonsils, partially clogged sinuses or nose, congestion from infection, or sleep apnea.

People diagnosed with chronic nasal congestion often exhale through their mouth, and especially while sleeping, as they are not aware of this behavior. The main cause of mouth breathing is poor respiratory health: the soft tissues of the mouth and throat collapse during sleep, restricting airflow.

One of the most common causes of sleeping with your mouth open to breathe is allergies, frequently children who present this respiratory problem, this stems from hay fever, also called allergic rhinitis.

The septum is the wall of thin tissue that separates the nostrils, when this wall is off center, one or both nostrils can become blocked, making breathing difficult and leading to using the breath for mouth. Many other conditions can cause chronic nasal congestion and mouth breathing. Some of these conditions include inflamed nasal tissue or tumors inside the nose.

Finally, sleep apnea can also cause mouth breathing instead of nose breathing. People with this condition stop breathing many times during the night, and when their oxygen levels drop, they may swallow air. These frequent episodes of apnea can promote the habit of breathing through the mouth.

How to stop sleeping with your mouth open?

To solve the problem of sleeping with your mouth open, the conditions of the respiratory tract must be addressed and solved. If the airway contracts or collapses during sleep, the patient will continue to breathe through the mouth. The ultimate solution for mouth breathing is to restore the health of the respiratory tract, either curing an infection, or reshaping them to make nasal breathing easier. Treatments are diverse and may include:

• oral appliances
• Treatment of the tongue (tissue that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth)
• Orthodontics
• Oral adhesive tape to deal with jaw relaxation that occurs during sleep
• myofunctional therapy
• Removal of tonsils or adenoids
• nasal decongestants
• antihistamines
• air filtration