Excerpt from Episode 311 (YouTube interview) in which Dr. Hilary Fritsch advises on pediatric oral-posture interventions. Key points: prefer a myo tape over a myo brace so the child can still breathe and move their lips; mouth tape (or myo tape) is intended to encourage closed-lip posture but should only be used if the child breathes through their nose and the caregiver has confirmed nasal patency; the intervention is not universally appropriate and can be dangerous if the child's nose does not work.
Well, have you tried mouth tape with her?
I haven't. I think I like. It freaks me out a little bit because of her whole, like, you know, coughing it out in the middle of the night. I'm, like, afraid to, like, tape her mouth. I mean, I could try it with her during the day. I'm. I'm like one of those hesitant.
Don't use the mouth. Don't use the myo brace and just use just like a myo tape so she can still breathe and move her lips. But it would, like, encourage her to keep them lips closed. Then I think you kind of check the box. Like, if, you know, she has good tongue posture and she's keeping her lips closed, you should.
Yeah. And I would say my kids both have closed mouth postures when sleeping, unless they're sick at this point. So, you know, would you still recommend, like, trying mouth tape if you feel like the kid's mouth is closed or you really. You're only doing that for a closed lip?
I'm doing it to just keep. Make sure they're keeping their lips closed. So if you feel confident that they're keeping their lips closed and breathing through their nose, and I don't think you need to do it.
I also, like, hesitate to recommend it because it's not for everyone.
You know, it can be dangerous. You need to know that their nose works.
