long time nasal pillow mask users

[cpapthomas]

I am a newbie. I have read that nasal masks put pressure on the upper teeth and have caused peoples upper teeth to shift. I have also read that full face masks put pressure on the lower teeth and have caused people's lower teeth to shift. Do you know anything about this and has the long term usage of the nasal pillows mask caused pressure or shifting or ???problems.

[leonardlake]

Thomas,

I have been using nasal pillows since Nov 1999 and have seen no shift of my upper teeth. As a teenager I had extensive orthodontics of my entire mouth (6 years of braces) with two different othodontists so I know what moving teeth around is like. My front teeth came in 90 degrees out of alignment. I don't believe tooth shifting due to nasal pillows is a common problem.

Leonard

[torontoCPAPguy]

I heard that too and started using a nasal mask hoping that it would cause my nose to shift. No dice. Now using a full face mask in the hopes that .................., well you get the picture. My wife's idea.

Seriously, I have seen no evidence of a quality mask causing shifting of teeth nor shifted of the bite. In fact, have a friend who just went with a dental appliance as he has a friend who is a dentist and makes them. He has been told "no guarantees" and that a permanent shift in bite is unlikely but that if it does happen it would be for the betterment of his jaw alignment and apnea problem.

I can attest to the fact, however, that wearing a cheap nose mask that puts pressure on the bridge of your nose is going to make a dent - but it goes away after a while when you figure out that you really need a mask that spreads the pressure out over your forehead with a brace.

[JayC]

I use nasal pillows....2 years now... and on the rare occasion I have had upper front teeth pain, it was directly related to having readjusted the mask too tight or not seating the strap across back of head in a low enough position on my big Irish head........ went away within an hour once unmasked in the morning.....and I made sure to loosed all straps and properly optimally adjust.

I too had braces for several years as a kid, and know what shifting teeth feel and look like....

Hasn't and isn't happening in these 2 years on APAP with my Swift LT

J

[chunkyfrog]

I had orthodontics for two years as a kid.
I have retired my mirage micro after 3 months, as the bridge of my nose is not bulky enough to keep wind out of my eyes.
The last time I wore it, I found myself pushing it downward to where my nose is big enough to keep my eyes safe; which put the bottom edge right on my upper incisors.
The following morning, I awoke with my front teeth out of alignment and in pain--after just that night.
It took about 4 hours for my teeth to return to where they belonged.
I now have a swift FX. The dang micro goes in the drawer.

[base2balls]

I use a nasal mask it's the Mirage Micro and I have not noticed any shifting in my teeth at all. when I first got the mask I did feel like it put a little bit of pressure on my gums and such, but I losened the straps on the headgear just a skosh and it was lots better. I'll be getting my pillows in a few weeks so I'm looking forward to trying those out. I don't like wearing a mask on hot nights and tonight will be another hot night. whew! Well can't breathe with out my cpap at night so I best keep on truckin' as they used to say waaaayyy back in the 60's. Take care and have a great day, Huggies, Fay