Dry mouth and oral devices

[Mosquitobait]

My brother reports that Bioteme spray works very well for dry mouth. That said, has your doctor evaluated you? Dry mouth is often a symptom of illness, sometimes very severe, although it can be a side effect of medication. In other words, it is not normal. I had dry mouth twice and both times were the result of high blood glucose. My brother has it as a result of diuretics he has to take.

As for oral appliances, TMJ is often associated with them. You should know that your health insurance may not cover treatment of TMJ. Just so long as you are aware of that, you certainly can consider the option.

[Zandor435]

Mosquitobait,

I have used biotene, thanks for the response though.  It's a gell that lasts only an hour or so.  

I have a full face mask and if I don't take my lips shut, then the air circulates into my nose and out of my mouth.  That is the problem.  Even still with my mouth taped shut I swallow enough air that my mouth dries out if I don't have xylimelts in.

ALso thanks for the comments on the oral device.  I'm definitely going to look into that because I have mild sleep apnea and i have heard it helps some folks.

I imagine it's expensive.  

Thanks again for the thoughts.

[lazurm]

How exactly had your teeth shifted?

[WakeUpTime]

Love this thread.  Good ideas.  Yes, I too suffer from dry mouth.  I awake at about 1:30-3:00am each night and swish some water, and try to get tired enough for sleep shift #2.  

J&J white cloth tape has been the perfect choice for me for sealing the lips.  I've found it at the local Walmart.  However, I've found that cubby to be empty so many times.  I wonder if it's because of all the CPAP users!  I read that a person mentioned to use one strip to keep the jaw closed and another one across the lips.  I've just been going without the lip strip but I know I get leaks.  I love the lightness of tape + a p10 mask.  I doesn't get any lighter than that.

I've tried a number of other tapes.  They either rip my skin off (almost) or don't seal enough.  That J&J 1/2" which cloth roll in the metal tin has worked wonders.  Just put a little cream on those lips the next morning, if need be, to get you conditioned for the next night.

Having said that, because of ongoing leaks that keep my AHI way too high, I thought I'd pull out a full-face mask (of the drawer full of them) to remind myself tonight why I don't use them just to see if leaks improve.  

I'm amazed that nobody has invented an ultra light nasal mask with a built-in chin strap (also ultra light).  I hate it that the DME's and manufacturer's just lump the mouth-breathers into the FULL FACE MASK CATEGORY.  Clearly, there's a large base who refuse to go that route!  

I've got to get me some of that Xyle... gum.  I had never heard of it.

[chill]

I used the oral appliances for three years-- not NEARLY as effective as xPAP, wreaked havoc on my jaw-- my bite is a mess and my teeth shifted a great deal, and the cost is roughly 3K for three years.  I would not recommend them ever.

I am happy to read that.  I first considered an oral device when I decided that I needed to do something about my constant exhaustion.  You experience was exactly what I was concerned about and why I went with CPAP.

[Marillion]

When I was initially looking into solutions for my snoring and tiredness and spoke with my Dentist, he mentioned that he had some clients use the jaw advancement mouthpieces to prevent snoring. Those devices cost thousands of dollars and greatly modified the bite for people. They were not happy campers. It didn't even work very well for most of them. That convinced me to look into the CPAP route and here I am. I'm sure glad I didn't go the oral appliance route!