Chinstrap failure

Luthie :Its a party every night. I had some slim black thing they called chin strap. Woke up and it was accross my mouth like gag. Its a no win. You gotta keep at it and maybe something will work. On new mask now with nose piece that comes down low to the mouth and actually you cannot open your mouth a lot. That's a good thing. jury still out on the new equipment.

chunkyfrog wrote:"Training" your mouth to stay shut sounds like a load of beeswax.
I believe what really happens is cpap reduces your need to mouth-breathe,
gradually, by propping open your "normal" airways.
Eventually, the message gets around to the pie-hole--by itself.
You can't hurry it; but it gets there. Makes it a bummer until it does, though.
Chin straps, tape, poli grip strips, or foam collar--hopefully it will be temporary--it was for me.

I agree with this for the most part. I have gone from primarily a mouth breather to almost exclusively a nose breather in the 22 months that I've been on CPAP.

When I started CPAP (actually an Auto-Pap), my machine had to stay at higher pressures longer before my events would clear, and my mouth always blew open no matter what.
Now, it seems that my throat responds more quickly when the pressure ramps up, and my events don't last long enough to make this as much of an issue.

After spending most of the past few months with a full mask, I'm back to my P10 pillows. I can tell that they give me better therapy with my allergies and previous sinus issues.
However, I still need some form of chin restraint to help minimize dry mouth and allow my wife to sleep more peacefully.

The idea of taping terrifies me, but as many have mentioned, tape can be used under the chin (like a chinstrap) or under the lips (like a chin-up strip) without covering the mouth.
As for chinstraps, my personal experience is that they usually pull the lower jaw back, but a chinstrap where the backstrap goes over the ear and behind the crown
(Like the Respironics Premium chinstrap) did not give me that problem as much as a chinstrap where the backstrap goes under the ear (such as the Ruby style).

Everyone has their preferences, and only time can determine what works in the long run.