CPAP and very dry mouth

kogorman · Post by **kogorman** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 3:12 am

I've been on CPAP (pressure 14) for about a year now. It was going fairly well, except that my mouth would get so dried out (even with the humidifier all the way up) that when I woke up my teeth were painfully glued to both my tongue and cheeks. A squeeze bottle of water next to the bed gave quick relief, but I have been worried about the connection between dry mouth and tooth decay.

My dentist suggested vaseline on the gum line, but that's hard to apply consistently, it is pretty repulsive, and probably wouldn't stay put anyway.

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 4:02 am

Could you be mouth breathing? Check with your pharmacist, there are products made just for this purpose. Biotene makes mouthwash that helps keep your mouth from drying out. There are also oral moisturizers like this one;
http://www.shopinprivate.com/moutkotormoi.html

Brenda

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 6:31 am

What type of mask are you using?

If it is not a full face mask ... you are leaking all of your CPAP treatment out of your mouth.

TerryB · Post by **TerryB** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 6:59 am

Yes, the dry mouth is a serious concern on two fronts. You may seriously damage the gums and teeth AND it is indicative of all of the pressure coming in your nose and out your mouth. As Dreamstalker said, IF you are using a full face mask you may be allright on the treatment pressure front. If you are not using a FFM, you need to eliminate the mouth leakage. Chin strap, mouth taping and lip adhesion are all methods used by some. I use a chin strap AND denture adhesive strips on my lips. Otherwise I leak like a little teapot at best or like a hairdryer at worst.

TerryB

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 7:01 am

Welcome to the forum!

What brand and model machine are you using? What mask are you using? Has your DME supplier or your sleep lab followed up w/you at all since you got your equipment? How many and which masks have you used during this year? Do you have insurance? Many insurances will allow you to replace your mask every 6 months, some even allow every 3 months.

I sure am surprised your DENTIST would recommend Vaseline and not Biotene or equivalent. Talk to your pharmacist about other brands of saliva substitute that might be available.

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 8:33 am

Slinky wrote:Welcome to the forum!

I sure am surprised your DENTIST would recommend Vaseline and not Biotene or equivalent. Talk to your pharmacist about other brands of saliva substitute that might be available.

His Dentist is the brother-in -law of his DME.

Throw away your Nasal mask, get a well fitting FF Mask, and get XPA, treatment for the first time in a long time. Jim

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 8:35 am

Goofproof wrote:
Slinky wrote:Welcome to the forum!

I sure am surprised your DENTIST would recommend Vaseline and not Biotene or equivalent. Talk to your pharmacist about other brands of saliva substitute that might be available.
His Dentist is the brother-in -law of his DME.

Throw away your Nasal mask, get a well fitting FF Mask, and get XPA, treatment for the first time in a long time. Jim

... or the DENTIST has lots of Exxon stock

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 8:43 am

You two are incorribible!!! But, yeah, I'd take a guess that this dentist is counting on a LOT of future visits: peridontal work, fillings, extractions, partials, dentures .... whew. There's a fortune to be made just waiting in the wings w/that jar of Vaseline!

kogorman · Post by **kogorman** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 3:38 am

You guys are very funny.

I'm convinced the dentist is doing his best, but I don't think he's encountered this before. I'm in an area far away (250 miles or so) from any sleep specialists. I'm lucky (sort of) that there's even a sleep lab in the county. Only sort of, because their beds were awful hard to sleep on.

I'm using a Resmed S8 Escape CPAP from Lincare (the only local provider I'm aware of), with humidifier. I'm using nasal pillows because I've been unable to find a mask that will stay put on my face (possibly because 14 is a high pressure). Instead they start acting like hovercraft and spill air into my eyes and wake me up, or else make loud farting noises. Either way, it's not workable with the FFM I had (ResMed Ultra Mirage), or the other two smaller masks. At least with the pillows I sleep.

I tried chinstraps but they made no difference that I could discern other than adding to the overall discomfort.

I have good insurance, and can change to about any style of headgear they carry. I'm not so sure there's any choice of CPAP.

Anybody who's using tape: what kind of tape do you use?
I'd like to hear about any other solutions I could try.

kogorman · Post by **kogorman** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 3:40 am

I should also add that the dentist DID recommend Biotene, but saliva production stops during sleep, Biotene or no Biotene, and the problem persists. The vaseline is an attempt to seal in moisture.

roster · Post by **roster** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 4:26 am

[quote="kogorman"]

Anybody who's using tape: what kind of tape do you use?

snoregirl · Post by **snoregirl** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:30 am

I use Nextcare gentle paper tape (3m).

I also use nasal pillows and have a pressure of 13 (similar to your 14).

It really sounds like you need to tape and maybe some type of chinstrap if the tape isn't enough.

I use a 3 inch ace bandage. Cheap, washable and rmore comfortable than neoprene or whatever those commercial overpriced things are.

Roll the ends of the tape under so you can grab it to get it off quickly. I keep chapstick at my bedside for the morning and that is about it. Occasionally I get a irritation on the skin, but a dab of neosporin on that generally fixes me right up.

Another thing I want to mention is that at your pressure APAP might help. I spend much of the night at 10, not my titrated 13 and this I am sure helps with mouth or mask leakage. So when you go for another machine, you might consider APAP. You mention you are not sure that there is much choice of machine with your insurance. I am willing to bet that you mean there is not much choice with your DME. I would bet that if your insurance will pay for an Escape E0601 code, I would pay for an elite, or remstar pro m series etc as they all are the same code and the insurnance co generally doesn't care what brand, just that the code is correct. It is most likely that your DME (lincare) has a contract with ResMed and pushes their machines, especially the escape which is one of the cheapest onese they make (no data collection so you can't verify if you are leaking or how much).

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): Nasal Pillows

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:37 am

I use 3M micropore surgical tape, which is hypoallergenic.

I alway put chapstick on my lips before taping, purse them slightly in (without streching them) and them put on the tape.

O.

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 11:40 am

I don't use tape, or polygrip, or chinstraps, or saran wrap, or corks, or zippers, or bolts, or anything else ... I was able to train myself not to mouth leak

sleepngo · Post by **sleepngo** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:22 pm

Hi kogorman,

Go to search at the top of this forum and under author, type in sleepngo, click search than click on Liberty Mask Conversion. This is the way I was able to solve my prolific mouth leaking and snoring problem, it worked for me, you might give it a try. could possibly be used on the Hybrid mask as well, hope this helps.

Dan