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I just bought the cheapo Walmart Wilson Football Mouthguard. Cost me around $1 and you use it on your upper teeth.

For me this does not work, worthless. Cannot fit this to my upper teeth.

Then I read the post by Physician in the other teeth thread viewtopic/t53627/My-teeth-hurt.html- he suggested this mouthguard http://www.doctorsnightguard.com/

So my question to those who are using mouthguard

1.. are you using a mouthguard?

2. is the mouthguard on the upper teeth, lower teeth or both?

3. is the mouthguard useful to reduce leaks?

3. what brand are you using: Wilson, doctorsnightguard or ....?

thank you for your help

The POLL feature available here is not suitable since I can post only 1 question for the poll

If it doesn't fit because it is too narrow in the back, you can spread it after heating.

If it is too long (longer than your jaw) just cut it with scissors.

I just bought an Everlast boxing mouthguard (at Kmart for $4) that molds to both the upper and lower teeth. It has air holes in the front, but I plugged them with pieces of moldable silicone earplugs. Tonight's the first night, so I'll know more in the morning.

And note while some people have had success with these guards, others have not. But for as little as $1, it's worth a shot.

Mine is too loose. Already cut the back part - however the space for the teeth is so great that the mouthguard just fell off due to gravity. I have one custom made one by a dentist ($500 ouch.... , 11 years ago) which is for the lower teeth. This is now becoming painful since it now does not really fit me anymore...

However from the last 1 week Rescan stats - my leaks are now in much better shape than before, so it seems that the mouthguard is functioning as leak preventer.

I am now looking for more cost-effective mouthguard

Just yesterday I purchased the CVS store brand for about $25 that you boil and mold to your teeth. They even offer a replacement if you screw up the first one. Tried it last night, and kept it in all night. I bought mine because I'm grinding down the surfaces of my teeth and waking with head and jaw pain -- at this rate I'll have baby-sized teeth before I'm 65! Anyhow, I've had 3 of those made by dentists, and your $500 was a good deal! I was hoping to find one to replace my cpap but I guess that isn't going to happen. I don't know if it has helped with leaks since my crappy DME gave me a crap cpap that I can't access any information on. But I didn't wake up with a belly full of air and my head & jaw pain was better. That's a step.
~Jan

I have a Somnoguard AP, two part adjustible mandibular advancement positioner, a boil and bite. I bought it originally for those times when I couldn't use CPAP. I plan to try it tonight as an adjunct to my BPAP to try to get my AHI down.
It's available in Canada, not FDA approved in the US. Has a screw adjustment to move the lower jaw forward. Was about $165.00, came with a guarantee of 1/2 your money back it returned during 30 days.
Comes with good in instructions, wasn't difficult to fit. I don't need a device for teeth grinding, but one to help with my sleep apnea.

I have a bite guard that I got from my dentist... it fits over my bottom teeth, not the top ones.

Well, I used the mouthpiece last night. While I am awake it sure feels like it should work. But my leak line was just as miserable last night as it has been for a while.

I'm pretty confused. I can push my Swift FX every which way, tug on the hose, and it doesn't leak. I don't have dry mouth, and don't think that I am mouth leaking, but I tried the mouthguard anyway. My beard prevents me from trying taping. I wish I could figure this out.

I have been trying to find an answer to that question also.
I have been trying to find a dentist here, a fairly sizable city, for one who can make the device, and it has been futile for the most part.
My sleep doctor recommended a dentist, but I found after a phone call, that he was not taking on any new patients.

Well, I kept trying, so I asked for a recommendation from my own dentist.
Long story short, he didn't know any, but said there was a new orthodontist that had recently begun practise just a few doors from his office.
So, on a lark, I went by the office and asked about the possibility of a mouth device for sleep apnea.
To my surprise, they said they would be glad to help me. So I now have a consultation session set up, and the consultation is cost-free (a rarity)

It will be very similar to the Tap-3 device. http://www.premierdentalcedar.com/conte ... apnea.html
Also, best of all, I asked my sleep doctor for a prescription for the device, and he gave it.
So, as far as I can tell, it is also paid for by Medicare.

I'll keep you informed on how it goes.

Jay

I use an upper/lower mouthpice joined by plastic (?) straps that was fitted to my teeth by my dentist. I can't recall the name of the product but any dentist should either know of it or know how to found out about it. Mine is fitted to hold my bottom teeth slightly forward and apart; it's supposed to help hold the throat open and reduce OSAs.

When I had my sleep study done back in 2007, I couldn't accept the idea of CPAP. So the sleep doctor had me use the mouthpiece. It helped for a bit, but then I had to go to APAP in March of this year because my sleep was deteriorating quickly. I started using just nasal pillows, but I'm a bad mouth breather on the exhale. I think it may have been the physical size of the mouthpiece; it isn't huge, but it does seperate the teeth and mouth just enough to blow bubbles...

So I started using a hybrid. What I found nice about the mouthpiece is that it really holds my jaw in place even when I move. This really helps in keeping mask leaks down to a minimum, and I'm a tosser/turner. Some nights I have zero leaks; a flat line straight across. I never had that with the nasal pillows, even after taping my mouth.

It does cost more than what you can buy in stores. With office visit and all, mine cost about $400. But since I'm always trying to remove variables that might affect my sleep, reducing leaks to zero makes it worth the cost.

mamaguinnie:
the one you bought from CVS: is it for upper or lower teeth?
what happened to your 3 other ones? Use 1 in lower and check 2 because they do not fit anymore?

I cannot imagine using a dumb CPAP. This is like driving with your eyes closed. If I were you, I will buy a data-capable CPAP from auctions and Craiglist - used for $150ish. There are many available and this will boost your treatment

I think we're mixing potatoes and pomegranates here.

The $1 sports mouthguards have been suggested as a possible solution to mouth leaks.

The dentist-supplied devices are designed to either mitigate the damage from bruxism (tooth grinding) or to treat OSA. (There are other types of dental devices, too.)

the dentist one's also work for TMJ... which is what mine's actually for.

Mary Z
where do you buy that $165 thingy?

It is expensive, but then mask+chinstrap+ experimentation with taping is more expensive...
I have experimented taping, chinstrap, numerous masks, balms and lasinoh etc and combination thereof still not much improvement in leaks. Last 7 days experimentation with mouthguard is more promising, however there are variables that need to be tested

cpapernewbie wrote:mamaguinnie:
the one you bought from CVS: is it for upper or lower teeth?
what happened to your 3 other ones? Use 1 in lower and check 2 because they do not fit anymore?

I cannot imagine using a dumb CPAP. This is like driving with your eyes closed. If I were you, I will buy a data-capable CPAP from auctions and Craiglist - used for $150ish. There are many available and this will boost your treatment

It is for upper teeth. Gives me something to chew on at night instead of my teeth! My 3 other ones no longer fit, as my teeth have moved and my bite has changed.
Yes, getting a data-capable machine is definitely the plan!