One of the real joys of my career has been the opportunity to train colleagues who then pursue their own careers and interests, with incredible achievements. This month I am writing about a study performed by Dr. Natamon (Front) Charakorn, a Thai surgeon who spent 6 months with me when I was at USC. She returned to her home institutions in Bangkok (Chulalongkorn University and King Chulalongkorn Hospital) and has been a leading sleep surgeon in her country.

Mouth taping has been one of many approaches that has been marketed aggressively in the United States and worldwide, with proposed benefits in improving sleep, snoring, and even sleep apnea. Unfortunately, there is no strong scientific basis for claims that are promoted by various individuals, whether health care professionals or the lay public. I have written previously about research (led by another former fellow who trained with me, Phillip Huyett, MD) showing that mouth taping may be helpful in selected patients with snoring but, conversely, may be harmful in those who do breathe well through their nose.

The December 2025 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine included a study evaluating whether mouth taping can improve adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy in those with obstructive sleep apnea. The study included 62 adults with obstructive sleep apnea, with mouth breathing on CPAP, and without uncontrolled nasal obstruction. All study participants were treated with CPAP for a month both (1) with mouth tape and (2) without mouth tape, in a random order. The study team obtained objectuve data related to usage patterns and control of sleep apnea from the CPAP machines and also asked study participants how they were doing subjectively. They found that mouth tape was associated with greater CPAP usage (3520 vs. 311 minutes per night when CPAP was used, with usage of CPAP 27 vs. 23 out of 30 nights) and greater subjective improvements (less daytime sleepiness, snoring, dry mouth/throat, and night-time awakenings).

I am impressed with this work, and it meshes well with the previous study I reference. This is a high-quality (randomized crossover) study that provides clear evidence of a real, meaningful benefit of mouth taping. It has convinced me, a skeptic at heart, that mouth taping can be useful in selected patients. In those patients with mouth breathing on CPAP who do not have nasal obstruction, I absolutely will be recommending mouth taping. Now if we could just pump the brakes a little on the claims that mouth taping is a cure all for every sleep ailment…