Jaw pain

[cpapbob1]

After using a CPAP mask for several months, I have developed jaw pain at the joint on the left side of my mouth. The other posts I have read on the subject mostly reference dental devices or teeth grinding, but I'm not using a dental device and my dentist has never mentioned any sign of teeth grinding.

I mostly use an Ultra Mirage FFM with a chin strap. When I first noticed this pain, I changed to my second mask, a Hybrid FFM. I have used it without a chin strap and with one, because my jaw dropping during sleep sometimes causes leaks.

Any suggestions on (1) what might be causing the pain (2) how to treat is and (3) whether to see a dentist or a sleep doc if the pain persists?

Many thanks

[cflame1]

1.) what is probably is... TMJ
2.) how to treat... first of all how tight is your mask? Make sure that it's only as tight as it needs to be. If it's not cinched down really tight... check with your dentist.
3.) start with the dentist... if they don't see anything then move to the sleep doc.

[tattooyu]

I get jaw pain too, but that is definitely from my chinstrap, which I do need very tight to work. I'm going to buy a PapCAP chinstrap when I can. Supposedly, it distributes the pressure more evenly.

[cpapbob1]

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I'll proceed on the basis of the advice in both posts.

[Gerryk]

You may be mashing your teath and not really grinding them and that can cause pain. My wife does this and I got a sports mouth guard for her to wear when she sleeps. She doesn't get the pain in her mouth anymore.
I used a chin strap and it cause pain for me.

Good luck.
Gerry

[bdivine]

You might try different chin straps. I have some TMJ issues. If the strap pulls my jaw back and not just straight up, I get pretty sore by the morning (really in about an hour). I had to try a couple before I found one that worked. They all put pressure on the jaw slightly differently.

Brian

[cpapbob1]

Thanks again for the feedback