Dry Mouth Problems - How to Fix?

[mjt57]

I have a Resmed S9 with a Resmed full face mask.

I have this tendency to sleep with my mouth open, particularly if I roll onto my back. The result is that I wake up with a horribly dry mouth.

I rinse with a dry mouth solution call Biotene Mouthwash. Then back to bed and to try and get some more sleep.

I have the humidity of the humidifier set to maximum (at least, insofar as I can see).

The airtube is heated as well, so there's no "rain" fallout in the pipe. But none of this seems to help.

Short of taping my mouth shut I'm not sure what to do here.

Any ideas, folks?

Thanks.

[FrankNichols]

It happens to me occasionally, being a mouth breather when I sleep. I have not found a solution yet, but many here find chin strips help.

[chill]

To clarify - you wear a full-face mask and still get a dry mouth from mouth breathing? I recently started using a FFM all the time as my brain decided that sleeping with my mouth open would be amusing. It has cured my bone dry mouth. Now I am wondering if that mask is making me keep my mouth closed.

[FrankNichols]

To clarify - you wear a full-face mask and still get a dry mouth from mouth breathing? I recently started using a FFM all the time as my brain decided that sleeping with my mouth open would be amusing. It has cured my bone dry mouth. Now I am wondering if that mask is making me keep my mouth closed.

Yes, I do and I expect the OP does.

[chill]

Well, that sucks. I hope my brain does not learn to do that. I will be most annoyed.

[MitchS]

I had extreme dry mouth with a FFM, also. Biotene helped a good deal but wasn't a cure. A chin strap has worked very well for me. I was not only able to quit using the Biotene, it has also enabled me to use a nasal pillow mask.

[SaldusMiegas]

Chin strap solved the same problem for me. Worked so well that I kept the chin strap and jettisoned the FFM in favor of nasal pillows.

Saldus Miegas

[mjt57]

To clarify - you wear a full-face mask and still get a dry mouth from mouth breathing?

Yes, that's correct.

I had a chin strap years ago when I have a nasal mask. It pretty much did nothing except to leave strap marks on the side of my face.

I tried some sort of "baby tape" I think it was called. Taping my mouth shut helped but I don't know if that's a good idea.

I might see what chin straps are available. Maybe they're better these days.

[eseedhouse]

To clarify - you wear a full-face mask and still get a dry mouth from mouth breathing?

Yes, that's correct.

I had a chin strap years ago when I have a nasal mask. It pretty much did nothing except to leave strap marks on the side of my face.

I tried some sort of "baby tape" I think it was called. Taping my mouth shut helped but I don't know if that's a good idea.

I might see what chin straps are available. Maybe they're better these days.

I had the same problem with a Simplus FFM. No matter how high I set the humidity I would wake up with dry mouth. A chin strap fixed that, so I'd agree with giving that a try.

[baconjurer]

I have had dry mouth for years, not related to sleep apnea. My dentist gave me a sample of a product that sticks to the inside of my mouth and stimulates saliva production called Oramoist. You can get an equivalent called xylimelts which is less expensive. I use them only at night and have found them helpful. It is a small disk with two sides, one side sticks to my cheek and the other slowly dissolves overnight. I wipe the base off my cheek in the morning. Oramoist can be found at local drugstores for $$. Xylimelts I have only found online. No prescription is needed.

If the OP is using a full face mask and still having dry mouth, these may help.