The Best Mouth Tape for Sleep, According to Experts
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With insights from dentists and physicians
People / Brian Kopinski
A quick scroll through sleep-related TikTok videos and it quickly becomes apparent that seemingly everyone and their mother is mouth taping.
The practice is exactly what it sounds like — using tape to close your mouth and encourage nasal breathing while you sleep. But, is that actually a good idea? The jury is still out.
Experts Say
“Try snoring with your mouth closed, and then open. You can see that it's harder to snore with the mouth closed. If you can’t breathe comfortably for three minutes with your lips sealed during the daytime, then it’s best not to try mouth taping, and you should seek out treatment from an ENT, airway dentist, or myofunctional therapist.”—Dr. Shereen Lim, a dentist specializing in dental sleep medicine
That said, it can improve sleep quality for many people, so if you want to give it a try (and have the okay from an expert to do so), which mouth tape you choose matters. Here, the nine mouth tapes PEOPLE considers the best of 2024.
Best Overall: 3M Micropore Tape
This is a favorite of Dr. Lim’s, who lauds it for being lightweight, breathable, and hypoallergenic, not to mention inexpensive. It’s just a general type of medical tape, so it's not specifically mouth tape. Still, you can feel confident that it won’t irritate your skin, and you can easily cut it into any size strips you’d like.
Size: 10 yards | Material: Hypoallergenic paper
Best Value: Niveus Gentle Mouth Tape
This dentist-created option comes at an affordable price of just $10 for a month’s supply. The tape, which is actually a medical-grade, hypoallergenic silicone, also won’t pull or tug on skin — though it is quite sticky. Bonus: Micro-perforations allow you to easily rip the tape to your preferred size, no scissors required.
Size: 1.5 yards | Material: Medical-grade silicone
Best for Sensitive Skin: Nexcare Sensitive Skin Tape
Many Amazon reviewers love using this medical-grade tape for mouth taping purposes. One shopper even uses it in tandem with their CPAP machine and wrote that the tape “does not irritate my skin and removes fairly quickly.” Along with being hypoallergenic, the tape is also water-resistant, a nice attribute when it comes to using it on your lips and mouth.
Size: 4 yards | Material: Unlisted
Best for Versatility: VIO2 Mouth Tape
These H-shaped tape strips are solely designed for mouth taping purposes: The brand actually calls them “a mouth trainer.” They can be applied either horizontally or vertically, making it easy to find your perfect fit. Happy reviewers rave about both how well they stay put all night, and how easy they are to remove as well. Plus, you can buy them as a one-time purchase or via a convenient subscription model.
Size: 48 strips | Material: Hypoallergenic medical-grade adhesive, cotton blend fabric
Best Tape Alternative: MyoTape Sleep Strips
“This is a stretchy elastic fabric that sticks around the ring of skin circling the lips to help encourage the jaws to stay closed,” says Dr. Lim of another one of her picks. “It’s most suitable for those who don’t like the idea of sticking tape on their actual lips,” she says, adding that these are also expert-developed. The cotton material is hypoallergenic, and we also appreciate that the strips come in different sizes. Just keep in mind they won’t work if you have any facial hair.
Size: 90 strips | Material: Cotton tape, hypoallergenic glue
Best Strips: SomniFix Mouth Strips
These sticky strips are designed to cover your mouth entirely, like a lip mask would. That said, there is a small vent over the lip area that allows a bit of mouth breathing for anyone who might feel claustrophobic having their mouth completely sealed. The adhesive is also hypoallergenic and residue-free, further upping the comfort factor.
Size: 28 strips | Material: Specially-engineered hypoallergenic residue-free adhesive
Best for Complete Coverage: PAP MD Mouth Tape
These strips are larger than many others, ensuring total and complete coverage (even if you have a big mouth). They’re made from a medical-grade adhesive (latex-free) that’s supremely sticky; these will even grip onto facial hair. Plus, they’re stretchy, flexible, and move with your mouth.
Size: 30 count, 2- x 3.5-inch strips | Material: Medical-grade adhesive
Best for Snoring: Hostage Mouth Tape
A popular option all over social media, Hostage Mouth Tape has a reputation for minimizing snoring. And while they’re definitely not a replacement for a CPAP machine, they can be used in tandem with one to help prevent dry mouth. They can be purchased as a one month’s supply, although there’s a convenient subscription model available, too.
Size: 30 | Material: Breathable fabric
Best for Comfort: Dream Recovery Dream Mouth Tape
You may have heard of bamboo sheets and pajamas, but what about bamboo silk mouth tape? This option — available in vertical strips and full sheets — is made of a bamboo silk that’s not only comfortable but also naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial. Couple that with a medical-grade adhesive that sticks perfectly, and these provide maximum comfort. Pro tip: Pull downward when removing them, rather than sideways.
Size: 30 | Material: Bamboo silk
How to Pick the Right Mouth Tape
Hypoallergenic
Certain adhesives can irritate the skin. Seeking out a tape that’s made from a hypoallergenic material, like the Nexcare Sensitive Skin Tape, is one easy way to help minimize this likelihood.
Porous
According to both experts we spoke with, this is a key quality to look for; the tape itself should be breathable, even though it is keeping your mouth sealed. The 3M Micropore Tape fits the bill.
Easy to Remove
“The mouth tape should be easy to remove, allowing the lips to part easily if there is any obstruction to normal airflow with the mouth closed,” advises Dr. Lim. (Plus, you also don’t want it to feel like you’re ripping the skin off when you remove it in the morning.) Our favorite value pick, the Niveus Gentle Mouth Tape, is made from a medical-grade silicone that comes off extremely easily.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of mouth taping?
First, it’s important to consider that the benefits of nasal breathing are legit. “Nasal breathing promotes better oral and jaw muscle tone,” Dr. Lim points out. “This tends to reduce collapsibility of the airway, and sleep becomes more restful.” Additionally, breathing through your nose allows you to filter, warm, and humidify the air, which can reduce irritation, adds sleep specialist Dr. Angela Holliday-Bell. “Breathing through your nose also aids in the elasticity of the lungs and leads to more oxygen absorption in your blood. All of these things help to improve your sleep quality,” she says.
That said, while mouth taping has many benefits, there are exceptions. “Many people report fewer sleep disturbances and feeling more refreshed upon waking with mouth taping, but it’s not going to be beneficial if there’s severe structural narrowing of the airway, which could be related to things like severe congestion or enlarged adenoids and tonsils,” says Dr. Lim. At the end of the day, there is some research showing that mouth taping may be beneficial for select individuals, but it’s not enough to make it a more broad recommendation, adds Dr. Holliday-Bell.
What are the negatives to mouth taping?
The high level takeaway: Both experts we spoke with underscore the fact that it’s best not to try mouth taping without proper evaluation by a medical professional first. “If someone truly needs to breathe through their mouth while sleeping due to nasal obstruction or other reasons, mouth taping can lead to difficulty breathing at night,” cautions Dr. Holliday-Bell. “It can also lead to aspiration, where the contents of your stomach get into your lungs due to reflux or vomiting.”
Does mouth taping help sleep apnea?
“It depends. Obstructive sleep apnea is a multifactorial problem, so there are multiple things that need to be addressed. In general, the airway will be less collapsible if we have our lips closed, but this won’t be optimal if there is restricted nasal airflow, or the jaws are too small and the base of the tongue is forced to rest in the throat,” explains Dr. Lim.
Does mouth taping help stop sleep grinding?
Dr. Holliday-Bell says there has been some evidence to show that it may be helpful in preventing grinding by keeping the mouth closed, but, again, underscores the importance of talking with a medical professional first. Dr. Lim disagrees, noting that teeth grinding is usually a red flag indicating obstructed airflow and that there are other things that need to be addressed (nasal obstruction, poor tongue space) in order to help resolve grinding.
Take Our Word For It
Melanie Rud is a beauty and lifestyle writer who covers a wide array of topics and has over 15 years of experience. For this story, she interviewed Dr. Shereen Lim, a dentist in Perth, Australia specializing in dental sleep medicine, and the author of Breathe, Sleep, Thrive. She also interviewed Dr. Angela Holliday-Bell, a physician, sleep specialist, and NEOM Organics certified sleep expert.
Our Expert Panel
Dr. Shereen Lim is a dentist in Perth, Australia specializing in dental sleep medicine, and the author of Breathe, Sleep, Thrive.
Dr. Angela Holliday-Bell is a physician, sleep specialist, and NEOM Organics certified sleep expert.
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