Mouth breathing, detrimental?

[Biguugly]

Been on cpap 2 years with ffm. See lots of posts on here about mouth breathing and remedies. Question is, does mouth breathing while on ffm affect the pressure therapy in any way? Every time I wake up, my mouth is open, and machine seems to be doing the job. Thanks.

[LSAT]

If you are using a FF mask your therapy is not compromised. You may however find that you have dry mouth.

[y_not]

I always mouth breath (ffm) and never a problem. Auto machines say that AHI is fine, all other records are fine, I feel fine - I do use humidifier on one machine but, as Biguugly says, even with the humidifier turned up a bit I still have a mouth like the Sahara every morning.

Only been on it a year but, in my experience, nothing detrimental about it.

Good luck with it

[grybeard77]

Dry mouth can cause bad things to the enamel on your teeth. My Dentist had very stern warnings about my teeth starting to decay, I switched to a cervical collar a year or so ago and he says the progression of decay had slowed considerably.

Just saying!!

[Sheffey]

Dry mouth can cause bad things to the enamel on your teeth

Actually, it's bacteria that erodes the enamel. If you clean your teeth thoroughly before going to bed, bacteria will not grow. Bacteria needs a source of food to grow. No food in your mouth, no bacterial growth.

That said, dry gums can cause problems in the long run. You are right to use a cervical collar. A produce like Orajel for Dry Mouth can also be a good investment.

[Wulfman...]

Been on cpap 2 years with ffm. See lots of posts on here about mouth breathing and remedies. Question is, does mouth breathing while on ffm affect the pressure therapy in any way? Every time I wake up, my mouth is open, and machine seems to be doing the job. Thanks.

If you're using a higher humidity setting, that can potentially cause more nasal congestion and force you to mouth-breathe.
If you have problems with congestion, try doing nasal cleansing before bedtime (or any other time).
Try turning your humidifier setting down (or Off) ( some folks don't even use a humidifier ).
Try training your tongue to stay to the roof of your mouth while you sleep.
Do some intuitive thinking and find what works best for you.


Den

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[palerider]

Been on cpap 2 years with ffm. See lots of posts on here about mouth breathing and remedies. Question is, does mouth breathing while on ffm affect the pressure therapy in any way? Every time I wake up, my mouth is open, and machine seems to be doing the job. Thanks.

no, it doesn't affect the efficacy of the treatment, or the pressure in any way. excessive leaks can do that, such as mouth breathing with a nasal/pillow mask.

[raisedfist]

There is no negative effect on therapy if you mouth breathe using a FFM. I find that I actually have to turn my humidifier off because otherwise even on a super low setting, for whatever reason I get moisture in my mask.

[Biguugly]

Thanks for all the info. Already have humidifier on lowest setting,do rigorous nasal cleaning last thing before suiting up and do not have a real problem with dry mouth. Just did not want to compromise therapy that is working great through ignorance. Thanks again.

[DavidCarolina]

In my opinion, yes.

Mouth breathing is not ideal for cpap.

Your body wants to breathe through the nose when you are sleeping.

Alternating back and forth is bad too.

[Okie bipap]

In my opinion, yes.

Mouth breathing is not ideal for cpap.

Your body wants to breathe through the nose when you are sleeping.

Alternating back and forth is bad too.

Your body wants to breath, period. It doesn't care if it comes through the nose, or through the mouth. When it is extremely cold, it may be beneficial to breath through your nose, but otherwise it makes no difference to your body.

[zoocrewphoto]

In my opinion, yes.

Mouth breathing is not ideal for cpap.

Your body wants to breathe through the nose when you are sleeping.

Alternating back and forth is bad too.

Mine doesn't. Even with my nose clear, I do not breathe through my nose when sleeping. I tried once, and I hated how it felt. I'm okay breathing through my nose some of the time I am upright. But not when I sleep. I can use an oral mask with no nose plugs and no air comes out my nose.

Some of us are truly mouth breathers. It works well for me. I see no reason to change.