Periodontal disease and Apnea

[40 Winks]

I share a lot of issues with many of you that I didn't know were related to sleep apnea, like heavy sweating while sleeping (don't happen much now that I'm CPAP'n), and GERD to name a couple.

FYI, Periodontal disease is when your gums gradually detach from your teeth, creating pockets that are havens for bacterial growth that further deteriorates connective tissue. It then becomes impossible to adequately brush and clean these areas requiring the trimming of the gums exposing more and more of your teeth, but reducing the pockets so they can be cleaned. Obviously, poor dental hygiene can be a factor, but the disease can also effect those with good dental hygiene for unknown reasons.

I've been a mouth breather and snorer ever since I can remember, waking up with a very, very dry mouth. It was an every morning occurence for me, and still happens if I don't CPAP. There is some dryness when I use the machine but nothing like when I don't. So, I got to wondering, for those of you who are mouth breathers, do you or have you suffered from Periodontal disease as well?

4TW

[MoneyGal]

Periodontal disease is linked to the amount of saliva in the mouth. You need saliva to combat bacteria, and anything that cuts down the free flow of saliva in the mouth will contribute to periodontal disease. (There are other factors, both genetic and environmental, which contribute to the likelihood of periodontal disease for individuals.)

This is not a CPAP or apnea issue but a mouth-breathing issue, IMO (I'm not a dentist!). Use of a FFM with a CPAP is likely to reduce the incidence of periodontal disease for mouth breathers, as it will keep your saliva active (free-flowing, not dried out) throughout the night.

[roster]

............
This is not a CPAP or apnea issue but a mouth-breathing issue, IMO (I'm not a dentist!). Use of a FFM with a CPAP is likely to reduce the incidence of periodontal disease for mouth breathers, as it will keep your saliva active (free-flowing, not dried out) throughout the night.

I disagree with the statement. First, if you are using a nasal mask and mouth breathing then the pressure is being lost and the airway is not being held open. You need to do something different. FF masks were designed to solve this problem.

Second, if you are a mouthbreather, a FF mask will not stop the mouthbreathing. It will just maintain the pressure on your airway while you mouthbreath. Mouthbreathers using FF masks often report dry mouths.

On another point, I do not have periodontal disease, but I asked my dentist about the likelihood of mouth breathing at night causing the disease. He said, if I am careful to brush and floss my teeth well before going to bed, it is not likely that a dry mouth will cause the disease. He explained it is bacteria causing the disease and the bacteria will not grow without a source of food in the mouth. I do mouth breathe some with my FF mask, so I hope the dentist is correct.

[WearyOne]

I'm not having gum problems, but have had an increase in cavities since starting cpap. I use a FFM and my mouth is super dry almost every morning. My tongue is usually stuck to the roof of my mouth and my lower lip is stuck to my bottom teeth! My dentist and I talked about this and yes, that could definitely be a contributing factor in my increased cavities. As has been said before, decreased saliva means more bacteria. Don't really have an answer, other than exceptional oral hygiene. My last dentist appointment yielded no cavities, so things are improving.

Pam

[OCNorsk]

I am so paranoid about losing my teeth to gum disease, I think I've actually trained myself to awaken when my mouth gets dry. I then run my tongue around my mouth and get the saliva flowing again. I went to the dentist this week (new guy, just out of school...a good thing) and he said that my teeth looked OK, but he was aware of the CPAP connection and will keep the situation monitored.

My mother also had Sjoegren's Syndrome, which is a real ykw. It dries up your saliva almost completely. So I've got the fear of that, too.
I do not take dry mouth lightly.

[MoneyGal]

Just to clarify: what I mean is that the source of the problem with dry mouth is not apnea per se, but mouthbreathing.

As in: the connection you want to draw is between mouthbreathing and dental decay, not between apnea and dental decay.

The presence of a CPAP machine for a mouthbreather who does not use a FFM nor a humidifier may exacerbate the problem, but is not causal. There is a well-established causal relationship between a dry mouth / decreased saliva and dental decay (and there are other factors which affect decay in any individual). Adding CPAP is not causal, although it may be contributory.

[Woody3]

There is discussion thread somewhere here about Oralbalance a mouth moisturizer made by Biotene.
Some Riteaid drug stores carry it. It's supposed to aid dry mouth up to 8 hours.

[john_dozer]

There is discussion thread somewhere here about Oralbalance a mouth moisturizer made by Biotene.
Some Riteaid drug stores carry it. It's supposed to aid dry mouth up to 8 hours.

This was mentioned to me just a week ago by my hygienist.

My dentist is pretty adamant that dry mouth is a negative.

I wish FFMs weren't designed to jet right into the open mouth.

[roster]

There is discussion thread somewhere here about Oralbalance a mouth moisturizer made by Biotene.
Some Riteaid drug stores carry it. It's supposed to aid dry mouth up to 8 hours.

I tried it. Both the liquid and the gel. If you are breathing through your mouth it will not keep your mouth moisturized for even eight minutes. I dries just about as fast as saliva.

[Paul56]

As someone who has been on xPAP since September 2008 and having gone through some very recent dental treatment (in the last 2 months) I will share with you what I learned...

I finally had to have a root planing & scaling ("deep cleaning" for short that was done over 2 appointments. I suspect this has been coming on for a while with this hygienist finally recommending this be done. Not a great experience... involves several injections for freezing and long sessions in the chair. Aftermath was not too bad although I did have swelling on one side of my face which may have been caused by the nasty stuff being removed getting into my blood.

Hygienist told me my apnea had nothing to do with the dental issues I was having, but rather it was the result of not being diligent about oral hygiene for a few years. Oh I do brush my teeth, just not always after each meal and sometimes I used to not bother before bedtime... which allowed the bacteria to grow overnight and cause damage.

Anyways, the issues have all been taken care of and resolved successfully.

A dry mouth is harmful on your teeth & gums because the saliva forms a coating over the teeth that protects them. Very important to keep the teeth and gums clean... something many are not diligent enough about. It was recommended to brush AT LEAST twice daily. It was also recommended to use an extremely light touch when using an electric toothbrush as brushing hard can seriously deteriorate the outer surfaces of the teeth.

The cleaning sessions involve (and in this order): flossing, brushing, swishing around mouthwash.

I use the following products: Oral B Vitality electric brush with Sensitive heads, Crest toothpaste, Oral B UltraFloss and Cepacol mouthwash. The hygienist told me to NOT use a mouthwash with alcohol as that tends to dry out the mouth, can irritate sensitive areas and there is a possibility of it causing cancer.

The bottom line from my dentist/hygienist: A dry mouth is not good for oral health. The apnea treatment may cause a dry mouth but there are remedies for that and apnea is not the cause of oral health issues.

[roster]

................. The hygienist told me to NOT use a mouthwash with alcohol as that tends to dry out the mouth, can irritate sensitive areas and there is a possibility of it causing cancer.

........

It's also an unforgiveable waste of alcohol.





Paul, Thanks for all the good information.

BTW, My wife hates this but I use toothpaste for mouthwash just before I floss. Just suck a little dab right out of the tube and then take in a little water. Excellent tasting and feeling. You can rinse out a lot of food bits before you start flossing. Make sure you have your own private tube. Oops, gotta go, here comes my honey!