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Poll: How do you avoid mouth leaks?
This poll is closed.
Full Face Mask
13.04%
9 13.04%
Chinstrap
33.33%
23 33.33%
Tape
15.94%
11 15.94%
Don,t need anything - keep my mouth shut
26.09%
18 26.09%
None of the above - see my comment
11.59%
8 11.59%
Total 69 vote(s) 100%
* You voted for this item. [Show Results]

How do you avoid mouth leaks?
#21
RE: How do you avoid mouth leaks?
I worried I would open my mouth. Without CPAP I was a mouth breather. But, in fact, I transitioned to a nasal mask almost right away. Go figure.

Mike
Mike
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#22
RE: How do you avoid mouth leaks?
(07-06-2012, 10:11 AM)BabyDoc Wrote: For the record, I don't understand how a chin strap is supposed to keep your mouth shut. It takes so little effort to overcome the elasticity of the strap. If a chin guard works at all, it probably works as a training device, perhaps similar to the dental guard, to make people more aware of their mouth position. Many people, after using a chin guard for a while at the beginning of therapy, find they don't need it for long.

Do you find your dental guard still necessary for your sleep therapy after having used it for a while?

I beg to differ.

For the first year and a half I used the Swift FX with no issues whatsoever. When my doc raised my pressure from 10 to 12.7 I found myself waking up with mouth leaks several times per night. A chin strap has, so far, proved to be the answer of choice. It isn't that the chin strap is difficult to overcome, of course it isn't. It does, however, help to keep my jaw from "relaxing" open.

At some point I will likely try sleeping without it again, I sure wouldn't mind starting my morning with one fewer set of strap marks across my face, lol.
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#23
RE: How do you avoid mouth leaks?
I'm waiting for a chin strap to arrive in the mail from my supplier. In the meantime I've borrowed a 2" headband from my wife and cleaned it up, not for a chin strap (it would work for that, though you might need more than one, for strength) but to hold my mouth shut.

I drop it down over my head, circling it across my lips in front, above my ears in back.

It holds my lips the same as taping would, except it's got to be a lot more comfortable. Especially for someone like me with a beard and mustache. If I need to talk I can just move the headband for the moment and then put it back where it was.

It works so well I'm not sure I'm going to use the chin strap when it comes.

If you decide to go buy one try to get a simple tube head band. It needs some substance to it. The less stitching in it the better. Next time I buy one I might try a sports head band, except I wonder how much the terry cloth's scratchiness would bother me.
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#24
RE: How do you avoid mouth leaks?
(07-01-2012, 08:13 AM)SuperSleeper Wrote: Nasal pillows here... no problem keeping my mouth shut... except on the forums, where I keep it wide open most of the time. Bigwink Too-funny

+1
Don't need one all the time. My warden....er ah wife wants me to wear it all day, too...Dielaughing
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#25
RE: How do you avoid mouth leaks?
The only solution I have found for me so far is to stay awake.
I am not a Medical professional and I don't play one on the internet.
Started CPAP Therapy April 5, 2016
I'd Rather Be Sleeping
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#26
RE: How do you avoid mouth leaks?
I minimize mouth leaks by wearing a "boil and bite" sports mouthguard. It seems to work well, with data from SleepyHead showing a marked decrease "with" the mouthguard.
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#27
RE: How do you avoid mouth leaks?
First post, and very curious. I don't breathe through mouth, but find that my mouth just leaks at over-pressure moments. Wonder if I should reduce my max pressure?

Is it just normal when new to CPAP (airsense 10) use?
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#28
RE: How do you avoid mouth leaks?
My wife handed me a tri-pack of superglue...huhh Unsure
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#29
RE: How do you avoid mouth leaks?
(06-13-2016, 04:02 AM)ezybreathykiwi Wrote: First post, and very curious. I don't breathe through mouth, but find that my mouth just leaks at over-pressure moments. Wonder if I should reduce my max pressure?

Is it just normal when new to CPAP (airsense 10) use?

It does happen to a lot of us. The first remedy is a chin strap. Just call your equipment provider and explain that air leaks out of your mouth. It's possible that the problem will go away as you adapt, and the chin strap be needed only as a training aid.

Some people find that they have to continue to use a chin strap or, if that doesn't work, switch to a full face mask that covers both your nose and mouth.


Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#30
RE: How do you avoid mouth leaks?
Presently finding how bad mouth breathing is.

Had sleep apnea a few years.
Under control perfectly.
Use a face mask.
But like some here, can't close my mouth while sleeping.

Causing serious dental problems.
Had perfect teeth beforehand.
Wake up each morning with my mouth stuck to my teeth.
Open mouth + air blowing at it all night, fully dehydrated.

Starting to lose all my back molars. Don't eat sugar.
Dentist says it is dry mouth - affecting acidic balance.
Tried every trick, chinstraps, Biotene, tabs left overnight in my mouth, but so far none work.
Last resort was thinking of taping my mouth.

Aside from Dentek as an option, any others I am not aware of?
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