Nocturnal mouth-taping and social media: A scoping review of the evidence

Abstract

Objective: Across social media, nocturnal mouth-taping has been credited with benefits from increased energy and immunity to improved dental health. This scoping review summarizes the literature on mouth-taping and prominent social media claims pertaining to this practice.

Data sources: PubMed and Embase were searched using terms related to nocturnal mouth-taping. A search of TikTok was performed using the term "mouth taping."

Review methods: Studies yielded by this literature search were reviewed for relevance and excluded if they did not assess mouth-taping during sleep. Study characteristics were extracted for analysis. TikTok videos discussing mouth-taping during sleep were evaluated, and videos lacking spoken or written words were excluded. The first fifty videos meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria were reviewed for claims regarding mouth-taping and presenter type.

Results: One hundred and seventy-seven unique studies were identified; nine met inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two studies found significant improvements in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) metrics, one with mouth-taping alone and one with mouth-taping plus a mandibular advancement device. A study of non-OSA patients reported improved snoring with mouth-taping combined with other measures. A study of mouth-taping in asthma found no benefit. However, one study found that mouth-taping effectively reduced mouth leak during bilevel ventilation. The most common proposed advantages of mouth-taping on TikTok were improved sleep and oral health.

Conclusion: This is the first comprehensive literature review on mouth-taping. The literature on this subject is markedly heterogeneous, and there is little consensus on mouth-taping's benefits. Few TikTok claims regarding the practice have been evaluated. However, some research indicates that mouth-taping may be advantageous in OSA, snoring, and bilevel ventilation. Additional high-quality research is necessary to elucidate the role and efficacy of this practice.

Keywords: Asthma; Content quality; Mouth-taping; Obstructive sleep apnea; Otolaryngology; Sleep; Snoring; Social media; Ventilation.