Sleep Apnea Squad: Mouth Taping

Mouth taping is all over social media, but can it help people with sleep apnea? On Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at 2 p.m. ET, we hosted another Sleep Apnea Squad broadcast to explore what people living with sleep apnea need to know about mouth taping.

We discussed the origins of mouth taping as a tool for improved sleep quality and what research has been done to support those claims. Plus, we heard directly from patients on how some CPAP users are utilizing mouth tape to support their therapy.

Project Sleep’s Sleep Apnea Program Manager, Emma Cooksey, was joined by Ronni Fuchs, who shared her patient perspective on mouth taping. Kaitlyn Shrum, a myofunctional therapist, brought her expertise in nasal breathing to the discussion, and Dr. Upneet Chawla, M.D., a double board-certified physician in Internal Medicine and Sleep Medicine, shared about situations where consulting a doctor before mouth taping is recommended.

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Featured Guests:

Ronni Fuchs is a native New Yorker who has lived her entire life in Brooklyn, NY. She is married and has two children: Emma, who is 28 and works as an Admissions Coordinator at a private pre-school in Tribeca, and Eric, who is 31 and works as a company manager on Broadway. Ronni and her husband are retired and enjoy the freedom of doing what they want, when they want.  

Her CPAP journey began last year when, in discussion with an ENT, she shared some of the issues she was experiencing, never thinking they were related to sleep issues. Learning that her headaches, mild anxiety, acid reflux, and snoring could be caused by sleep apnea, she considered doing a sleep study.  It took several months for that to happen, but when the results were in, Ronni was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea.  Ronni has been a faithful user of her CPAP since March of this year.  Up until about 5 weeks ago, her nightly routine included mouth tape.  Ronni has since mastered nose breathing and no longer uses mouth tape, but believes it made a huge difference in her ability to use the least restrictive mask possible.

Dr. Upneet (Neety) Chawla, MD is a double board-certified physician in Internal Medicine and Sleep Medicine. She serves as an Assistant Professor at Rush University Medical Center with roles in both the Departments of Internal Medicine and Sleep Medicine. Her efforts are dedicated to merging the fields of sleep health with hospital medicine and extending this knowledge to the public. Dr. Chawla completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Ohio and her fellowship in Sleep Medicine at Rush University Medical Center.

Beyond her clinical and academic roles, Dr. Chawla aims to simplify the complexities of sleep medicine for the general public. She is an avid advocate for the importance of sleep health, using her expertise to educate and connect with a broader audience. Through her presence on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok (@sleeping.beauty_MD), she provides valuable insights, tips, and a behind-the-scenes look into the life of a sleep medicine expert.

Kaitlyn Shrum holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, is a Certified Myofunctional Therapist (CMT), a Qualified Orofacial Myologist (QOM), and a certified Buteyko Breathing Method (certBBM) instructor. She has completed continuing education focusing on dysphagia, orofacial myofunctional disorders, Buteyko Breathing, TOTS Training, the SOFFI method, Beckman Oral Motor Protocol, and the Kaufman approach to treat childhood apraxia of speech.

Kaitlyn is the author of Frankie Goes to Camp, a children’s book on breathwork techniques. She has been published in several professional journals for her research on pediatric sleep-disordered breathing, phonemic awareness in children with disabilities, and the benefits of dialogic book reading for vocabulary development. Additionally, Kaitlyn is a board member of the Oral Motor Institute and provides mentorship and continuing education to other SLPs, OTs, and RDHs.