My jaws hurt

For the past couple of weeks, I've been waking up with my jaws hurting. I don't feel like I'm clamping my teeth or grinding them, but I do use Poligrip Strips to keep my lips together. I'm a side sleeper and am beginning to wonder if the PapPillow, which sorta rests on top of my arm, is pushing too hard into the jaw area. Or could it be that I'm wearing the CL2 with simple cushion too tight and maybe pushing the upper jaw too hard?

Has anyone else had a problem with aching jaws? It seems to be getting worse as time goes on.

Ever since I started CPAP I have had jaw pain and seem to get pressure from the mask pressing on my face to wear the jaw gets sore. My mask is not to tight, it just seems to not like the pressure. It is getting worse for me. I have not come up with a solution.

I've always worn a bite guard while sleeping, but my jaw never ached until I started using the CPAP machine 3 weeks ago. I was assuming it was my old problem made worse because I couldn't sleep in my favorite position anymore.

I have to admit that I didn't wear my mask one night to give my jaw a break.

General ideas online for teeth grinding include warm compresses on the jaw before going to bed to relax. I haven't tried it.

I don't really have an answer for you, I just wanted to let you know you weren't alone! If I get an answer, I'll post it!!

I have jaw pain with a chin strap and changed to a poli-grip strip cut in half. That solved my jaw pain - but since you are having it with a poli-grip strip?

I also see you are using the comfort lite 2 - I'm puzzled with this one. Nothing on that mask really hits your jaw. Have you ever had TMJ? I find that the strip lets me keep my mouth in it's natural position while I sleep -

You might try another pillow for a night and see how that works?

Good luck - let us know if you can find a solution!

Linda,

I have developed chronic jaw pain that coincided with beginning cpap therapy almost a year ago. I am so tired of this problem, and am still seeking solutions. I think maybe my problem started with holding my head and neck in a weird position as a side sleeper trying not to dislodge my Swift nasal pillows. I used the Swift for four months before switching to the ComfortLite 2.

Changing masks did not solve the problem with my jaw, but certainly was a good move otherwise. The best I can tell is in those early weeks and months of cpap, which were pretty miserable for me, my body decided that my jaw would be the perfect place to store up all my stress and tension. Even though cpap is getting much easier for me, my body is now in the habit of soaking up the tension in my jaw. I am going to have to unlearn and undo that habit.

I've been working with a variety of health care professionals to address the jaw pain and to experiment with various ways to address it. I am not a healthcare professional myself, but here are some of my thoughts:

1) You may be grinding or clenching your teeth at night without being aware of it. You can try a "boil and bite" nightguard, but if you can afford it, I would suggest getting a custom made nightguard from a dentist if you need it, preferably one familiar with sleep apnea.

2) See a dentist whether or not you get a nightguard from him/her. Clenching and/or grinding can result in gum retraction, hairline tooth fractures, etc. Also, it is possible you have developed TMJ.

3) Make sure nothing about your mask, headgear, etc. is placing pressure on your teeth or pulling back your chin. You say maybe your CL2 is pushing on your upper jaw. That certainly could create soreness.

4) If your think your PapPillow could be the problem, make a change. I have seen lots of people on this forum who use squishable down or artificial down, memory foam, or the Target Shapable pillow.

5) Try to determine if you are doing anything that causes you to hold your neck at a different angle or position when you are sleeping. Stress on one of the vertebrae in the upper neck can result in jaw pain. Sometimes a few chiropractic adjustments can take care of that.

6) I see you have Encore software. Are you checking your therapy results on a regular basis? If for some reason, apnea events or other causes, you are not getting sufficient delta wave sleep, your jaws may not get the restorative relaxation they need. A physical therapist told me that we swallow a lot less in delta wave sleep. If we aren't getting enough, we are swallowing all night long, and that puts a lot of tension on the jaw muscles.

My dentist recommended cold packs followed by hot packs to reduce the stiffness and soreness. Massaging and carefully stretching the muscles frequently seems to help as well.

Anyone else who has information and ideas, please chime in. I'm still looking for answers.

Janna

Thank you so much for your responses. I did try wearing the mask slightly looser last night and made an effort to keep my arm down a little lower. My jaws do not hurt as much today, so maybe that will help overall. I also checked Encore Pro and the numbers were pretty much as usual. The leak rate was slightly higher, but not enough to be a problem.

Jenna, thanks especially for the info about the neck leading to jaw pain. I had never heard that before. I certainly do have neck problems -- arthritis and an old ruptured disk -- and I have noticed more "tension" or stiffness in my neck lately. I'll try to monitor that also to see if it coincides with the jaw pain.

The Papillow just about killed me with jaw pain. It was just way too thick, hard, and pressed on my jaw. I already have TMJ, but mostly keep it at bay. After using the papillow for 2 nights, I gave up on it. I had the worst jaw pain I've ever had. (It's going to a family member who's getting a cpap).

I went back to a thinner pilllow, a "slippery down" which is synthentic down that is really cool. About $20 at meijer.

I finally broke down and bought a new mask, the Headrest (Aura). I'm liking it for my neck position quite a lot. It's the best one I've found for side sleeping, but am still trying to get it to work as well as the Nasal Aire II works for me.

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