cpap and dental decay

Have had no problems. I have 22 crowns due to a dental reconstruction to correct TMJ. Have had no problems with them falling off or anything of the sort since using CPAP.

[quote="Anonymous"]Wow, somebody needs to straighten out this thread. You can find good studies that say sleep apnea is a major causal factor for GERD (chronic acid reflux) and bruxism.

So successful cpap therapy can eliminate GERD and bruxism (but not undo the damage already done).

My dentist flatly states that dry mouth leads to tooth decay. She was referring to some medications that cause dry mouth, and suggests to all her patients that they keep water by the bedside if the patient wakes in the night, and to use the special toothpaste that partially combats dry mouth.

If that is in fact true, then I can easily see where cpap therapy would cause an increase in tooth decay, especially in combination with medications that also dry the mouth.

I would also think that a heated humidifier could counteract some if not all of the drying effect cpap machines cause.

An interesting thread, and a problem I hadn't thought of in connection with cpaps before.

I use a full face mask with humidifier and don't have dry mouth. No dental problems either. The crowns have nothing to do with sleep apnea - Were TMJ related.

I have also been told that Apnea can contribute to GERD, and that CPAP reduces GERD. In my personal experience, I'd tend to agree, because mine is much better than it was pre-CPAP

I am the recipient of a destroyed front tooth because my CPAP mask put pressure on my upper jaw and caused an infection around the root. I had to get an implant to replace this tooth and the process was delayed because this same strap prevented the bone graft from taking effectively. Only after changing to a different mask did the bone regrow but at a slower rate.

Guest wrote:I am the recipient of a destroyed front tooth because my CPAP mask put pressure on my upper jaw and caused an infection around the root. I had to get an implant to replace this tooth and the process was delayed because this same strap prevented the bone graft from taking effectively. Only after changing to a different mask did the bone regrow but at a slower rate.

wonder why others don't have that happen to them?

It is all to easy to blame CPAP for the loss of the tooth, but people lose teeth all the time that are NOT using CPAP. Do skin divers have greater loss of teeth? If you lost your tooth due to CPAP mask you lost it because the mask wasn't fit or worn correctly.

Fact is the root of your tooth goes deep into the bone if it is maxillary (upper) those roots can even penetrate your sinus cavity. It is normal for it to take 3-6 months for a implant to fully osteointegrate into your bone. The implant has a special texture/coating to encourage the bone to integrate with the threads. They normally place the implant and put a healing abutment on during that time, the gum tissue will heal over the abutment. Once osetointegration has taken place (3-6 months) they surgically cut the gum and replace the healing abutment with the tooth abutment. If they didn't do this the "treads" on the titanium abutment wouldn't integrate with your bone and the implant would fail. Bone graft from a cadiver or other source is commonly used as it speeds the bone healing process along. When your natural tooth was lost, you have a big hole with a screw in the center, nothing really supporting the implant. The bone graft fills the void until your own bone fills the socket where the tooth once was. The bone graft is absorbed out of your body, can even seep out past the implant abutment, bone graft material resembles tapioca pudding and is injected into your socket before stitching up the gum. They have larger bone graft of solid material but not used in your case.

But the bottom line is, if you are wearing your CPAP mask down on your teeth right there is your problem, you were wearing the mask way too low or it was incorrectly fit. Your teeth and implant can handle vertical loads much better than shear loads, implants don't like shear forces placed against them at all. This is how they can move your teeth around with braces, but with implants you don't want those shear forces against it at all. Keep that implanted tooth clean and floss it regularly and it should last a lifetime.

Guest wrote:Wow, somebody needs to straighten out this thread. You can find good studies that say sleep apnea is a major causal factor for GERD (chronic acid reflux) and bruxism.

So successful cpap therapy can eliminate GERD and bruxism (but not undo the damage already done).

Guest, I'm a little frustrated. You obviously have knowledge that the rest of us don't have. Are you willing to share???? Or do you just want to complain?

Will, Acid Reflux and GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) are different names for the same thing....

z754103, either your family doc or a gastrointestinal specialist can deal with GERD.

I have personally have had a signifigant increase in tooth issues since using my cpap, as well as a chronic sinus infection/issues


I have a full face setup. ALot of times i wake up in the middle of the night breathing through my moutn, and my mouth will be bone dry.

Ive always had some cavities etc here and there but in the year and a half since getting the cpap ive had 5 root canals and my teeth are rotting at an alarming rate. I am brushing regularly and also using peridex rinse to help, and it aint helping much.

As mantioned earlier, ive also had CHRONIC sinus issues since using the machine. My sinuses are always plugged up or irritated, i have this nasty dry cough and the back of my throat is always irritated and dry sue to sinis drainage im told my my dr.


However i still use my cpap every night. I had wicked apnea and with the machine i now wake up feeling human again.

cadillacman wrote:I have personally have had a signifigant increase in tooth issues since using my cpap, as well as a chronic sinus infection/issues


I have a full face setup. ALot of times i wake up in the middle of the night breathing through my moutn, and my mouth will be bone dry.

Ive always had some cavities etc here and there but in the year and a half since getting the cpap ive had 5 root canals and my teeth are rotting at an alarming rate. I am brushing regularly and also using peridex rinse to help, and it aint helping much.

As mantioned earlier, ive also had CHRONIC sinus issues since using the machine. My sinuses are always plugged up or irritated, i have this nasty dry cough and the back of my throat is always irritated and dry sue to sinis drainage im told my my dr.


However i still use my cpap every night. I had wicked apnea and with the machine i now wake up feeling human again.

Without a shred of information about what equipment or settings you're using, it sounds like you have your humidifier set too high which is causing nasal congestion.......which leads to mouth-breathing.
Try turning your humidifier setting OFF and use it in "passover" mode. (water in the tank but no heat)
Also, do nasal cleansing sometime before going to bed. Then practice keeping your tongue to the roof of your mouth.


Den

I just had a capped molar uncapped and the idea was to recap it. It fell apart and had to be dug out... not a pleasant surgery. I am now sitting with a mouth full of sutures and bone graft awaiting it to set so that a replacement can be put in (I'm done with bridges).

I can tell you that diabetes is a huge contributor to dental problems; however my dentist has never mentioned CPAP therapy. I am going in there in a few days to have the site of the surgery cleaned up and inspected (so far so good) and I will ask him. I suspect that he may not know which of his patients are on CPAP/XPAP. It is a good and very valid question that needs to be asked.

If I do get an answer I will post same on the forum as soon as I get home.

My husband and I both were aware of his grinding. He'd wake me up with his squeaking and grinding. He has broken three teeth/fillings in six months, has loose front teeth and sore molars.
Have you considered a mouth guard? You can spend a lot at the dentist for one or go to Wal-Mart in their sport section and buy a sports mouth guard for about $2.00. After following the directions on the package to custom fit it, and using it every night for three weeks, his teeth do not ache, the loose ones aren't loose, and no more broken fillings. Fluoride mouth wash helps too.
Good luck,
Cindy

cadillacman wrote:I have personally have had a signifigant increase in tooth issues since using my cpap, as well as a chronic sinus infection/issues


I have a full face setup. ALot of times i wake up in the middle of the night breathing through my moutn, and my mouth will be bone dry.

Ive always had some cavities etc here and there but in the year and a half since getting the cpap ive had 5 root canals and my teeth are rotting at an alarming rate. I am brushing regularly and also using peridex rinse to help, and it aint helping much.

As mantioned earlier, ive also had CHRONIC sinus issues since using the machine. My sinuses are always plugged up or irritated, i have this nasty dry cough and the back of my throat is always irritated and dry sue to sinis drainage im told my my dr.


However i still use my cpap every night. I had wicked apnea and with the machine i now wake up feeling human again.

Ditto Wulfman.

Cadillacman, Talk to us about your equipment, pressure setting and humidifier setting.

Here is something I posted in another thread about relief of dry mouth and preventing tooth decay:

I have some congestion from time to time which leads to some mouthbreathing. Of course I try to eliminate the congestion but this is not always 100% effective. I have recently found a way to use Biotene Dry Mouth Moisturizine Gel, http://www.biotene.com/Products/Gel.aspx, to prevent and relieve dry mouth. I place a small dab of the gel in my gum over the upper central incisors. Be careful to leave it there and not suck it out or touch it with the tip of the tongue. I have found this can help to moisten my mouth for four to five hours with moderate mouthbreathing.

The ingredients in Biotene help to prevent tooth decay. Be sure to brush and floss before bedtime. If you get all the harmful bacteria out, there can be no tooth decay.

Keep in mind that major dental work may not last forever. Besides inadequate quality of work, a large filling leaves not enough material to resist fatique longterm.

Yes, I have increased incedince of tooth decay since CPAP treatment and I opened this subject before on this forum but it didn't attract any interest. apparently no one believed it