‘Microbiome-first’ dentistry, mouth taping, Alzheimer’s, snoring & more

healthHackers episode 50 with functional dentistry expert and creator of AsktheDentist.com, Dr Mark Burhenne

No time to watch the video? Below is the Soundcloud audio version. You can also get the podcast on your iPhone here or check out Spotify here.

In this episode, you’ll hear Dr Burhenne’s views on:

• how to keep your oral microbiome happy

• why it’s better to be a nose-breather than a mouth-breather

• mouth taping and why he recommends it

• a link between oral health and Alzheimer’s 

• why using mouthwash is a mistake

• what to eat for a healthy mouth

• why he uses a hydroxyapatite toothpaste instead of a fluoride-containing paste

• insights for healthy-minded parents who can’t figure out why their children need fillings

• why he brushes his teeth before breakfast

• why you shouldn’t brush straight after a meal

• how pregnancy can affect teeth - and what women can do about it

• an easy step to help your oral microbiome after a cup of coffee or glass of wine (it’s not brushing)

• plus, what it means if you snore

‘Don’t be a mouth breather, try to get that nose back online’

Have you heard about mouth taping? I hadn’t - until I started following functional dentistry expert Dr Mark Burhenne, a.k.a. ‘Dr B’ on Instagram.

I’m not referring to random acts of silencing yourself with sticky tape. I’m talking about the trend in wearing specialized ‘sleep strips’ over your mouth during the night to encourage nasal breathing.

Sounds weird? I thought so too. And when I first tried it out for myself, it certainly felt weird. 

But as you’ll come to recognize in healthHackers episode 50, Dr B is passionate about making people aware of steps they can take to potentially improve their oral health, even when some of those methods sound unconventional. 

His approach to fixing dental issues is a “microbiome first approach” - Dr B is big on making sure the billions of little bugs (good ones) living in your mouth are existing harmoniously to prevent dental problems from occurring. 

As he puts it, after 35 years of practicing dentistry in the San Francisco Bay Area, “The best dentistry is no dentistry.”

“The oral microbiome has an immune system. It's trying to prevent infections from getting into your mouth. It's very vulnerable,“ he told me.

So, why is sticking your lips together to go to sleep a good idea? According to Dr B and other advocates, there are many health benefits to breathing through your nose instead of your mouth.

“Our noses were designed to do all the breathing - even during mild exercise. The mouth is there for emergency breathing,” he said. 

“A lot of oral bacteria, if they get into the lungs can cause problems. This is one of the risk factors in COVID. Oral bacteria are found in many systemic diseases like arthritis, Alzheimers. So it's better to breathe through your nose because the nose is cleaning it. It’s doing a better job of filtering.”

Dr B, who also authored The 8-Hour Sleep Paradox, is known as @AsktheDentist on his social media platforms. The name ties with the website he created with one of his daughters, AsktheDentist.com. Their mission statement; ‘To help people understand the importance of oral health to overall health.’

In one of his online articles, Dr B lists further reasons in favor of breathing through your nose rather than your mouth, including that it helps the body to produce more nitric oxide, which is reportedly associated with enhanced memory, sleep quality, pain relief, blood pressure regulation and even reduced anxiety and depression.

According to Dr B, people that breathe through their mouth typically have higher heart rates and respiratory rates (the number of breaths you take across a minute).

He credits mouth tape with also being able to help address snoring. And said even his younger patients enjoy wearing the strips.

“I have many two-and three-year-olds that are mouth taping in my practice. They love it. They tell me that their dreams are even better; they’re kinder, nicer. No more nightmares,” he told me.

Sounds alarming? I asked if Dr B had ever heard of any cases where taping turned out to be dangerous or there were adverse effects.

“No, never. And I'm not worried about that. There are specialized products for this. This is how it's taken off, how well it's been accepted. There is a mouth tape now that has a vent in the front,” he said.

We all have a primal urge to wake up if we were suffocating, he explained to me, but added the caveat that if you’ve been drinking or using sedatives, “Obviously, you should not be mouth taping because you may suffocate. It’s possible, but I have not seen anything in the literature.”

Also, not everyone can physically manage mouth taping.

He told me, “Sixty percent of us in this country [USA], breathe solely through our mouth almost always. We have some kind of obstruction.”

This makes mouth taping a diagnostic tool for Dr B too.

“People that are freaked out about mouth taping typically know subconsciously that they have an airway issue that they can't breathe through their nose well.”

Your experience with sleep strips “really boils down to how much of an obstruction you have,” he told me.

Dr B tapes his own mouth every night, “if I don't, my mouth falls open. I get a dry mouth in the morning and that's the last thing I want. That's dysbiosis city.” 

FYI: Dysbiosis refers to a microbial imbalance. Remember - he’s all about living in harmony with your own bacteria! 

“If we upset that oral microbiome, which is easy to do, then you start getting cavities, you start getting gum disease, bad breath, for example. 

But also, all these oral diseases are connected to systemic diseases. You can have a propensity towards insulin resistance, which leads later to diabetes. You can actually get Alzheimers if you don't maintain and nourish this oral microbiome.” 

Hear more from Dr B on the link between oral health and Alzheimer’s in healthHackers episode 50.

Looking after your mouth isn’t all about breathing through your nose. In this episode, Dr B discusses the ideal diet, when NOT to brush, what you can do straight after coffee or wine to help prevent cavities, which toothpaste ingredient he prefers over fluoride, and how mouthwash can cause more harm than good. But if the nose breathing has got you thinking about your own respiration, Dr B said:

“If you are a mouth breather, do yourself a favor - do everything you possibly can with your dentist… seeing an ENT (Ear Nose and Throat specialist), so you can breathe through your nose properly and fully. It's not an easy journey for some,” he said, adding that it may involve surgery.

“But it's worth doing. It'll improve your outlook on life. It'll make you a happier person. I'm not exaggerating. It changes your sympathetic tone, your parasympathetic tone. All the gurus had it right - back two, three, 4000 years ago - breathing is key to success in life and happiness.”

Dr B’s website, Instagram, Twitter.

🟥Common sense caution: Anything you hear or see within healthHackers content should not be considered personal or medical advice. You’ve all heard it before, so you know the score - always talk to your own health provider about your concerns.👌