Dry mouth question

[dukemom1]

As someone who has dealt with a chronic dry mouth due to an autoimmune disease (for years before starting CPAP), I have a couple of suggestions.

Be sure to stay well hydrated during the day. It sounds obvious, but most of us don't drink enough fluids during the day.

My dentist also says Biotene products are good, and to stay away from any oral care product containing alcohol. My dentist recommends Listerine Zero.

There is a product I get from my dentist that can also be purchased online: GC Dry Mouth Gel. Put some in your mouth between your cheek and jaw just before you strap and mask up for the night, and it helps your mouth retain moisture.

http://smilewarehouse.com/index.php?l=p ... tail&p=114

The above link is the cheapest I found doing a quick search. Don't believe the list price they show - I found it for $15.00 at http://sale.dentist.net/products/gc-ame ... -mouth-gel, which is the price I pay for it at the dentist. Expensive, but for someone who used to wake up feeling like her mouth was packed with cotton balls, it is well worth it.

One other thought - many medications (both prescription and over-the-counter) have dry mouth as a side effect. Something you have been taking for a while may not have given you noticable dry mouth - but now combined with CPAP you notice it. Read up on all your meds and see if dry mouth is a side effect. I know Benadyl (diphenhydramine) is a big offender. If you take it at bedtime for allergies, or if you take Tylenol PM or many of the other OTC sleep aids, you are probably taking diphenhydramine. If you are using Benadryl for allergies, you can switch to Claritin - which won't dry out your mouth.

Read up on your prescription meds too. If you are on one that lists dry mouth as a major side effect, call your doctor, explain the problem you are having, and see if perhaps there isn't a similar drug you could be switched to.

Dry mouth sounds trivial to many people but maintaining moisture in your mouth, to the best of your ability, is important.

[roster]

There is a product I get from my dentist that can also be purchased online: GC Dry Mouth Gel. Put some in your mouth between your cheek and jaw just before you strap and mask up for the night, and it helps your mouth retain moisture.

http://smilewarehouse.com/index.php?l=p ... tail&p=114

The above link is the cheapest I found doing a quick search. Don't believe the list price they show - I found it for $15.00 at http://sale.dentist.net/products/gc-ame ... -mouth-gel, which is the price I pay for it at the dentist. Expensive, but for someone who used to wake up feeling like her mouth was packed with cotton balls, it is well worth it.

You are right that the way you apply the product is important. I use the Biotene Gel every night. Place a dab on the tip of the tongue and then use the tongue to place the dab high up between the two front teeth and gum. This helps keep my mouth moist all night.

That GC Dry Mouth Gel is more than three times the cost of Biotene Gel. I get Biotene at the local WalMart for $5.00 for 1.5 ounce.

The GC ingredients are Polyglycerol(Diglycerol), Pure Water, Sodium carboxymethylcellulose, Carrageenan, Sodium citrate, Flavour, Ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate.

Biotene Gel's ingredients are Active Ingredients: per 50 gm: Lactoperoxidase (6,000 units), Lysozyme (6mg), Glucose Oxidase (6,000 units), Lactoferrin (6mg)
Inactive Ingredients: Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Xylitol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, Beta-D-Glucose Aloe Vera, Potassium Thiocyanate

The first three ingredients in Biotene are enzymes which they claim inhibit bacteria growth. GC Gel contains no ingredients which make that claim.

On the surface comparing the two products, it looks like the GC Gel is a ripoff marketed through dentists.

Tar Heel Dad

[dukemom1]

Oh Roster, I am so disappointed in you. I have been enjoying your helpful and knowledgeable posts since the day I joined this forum.
But today, just now, I learned the truth. You are a. . . . I don't even know if I can even bring myself to type it. . . . . tar heel.
At least we have a few months until October. (Actually once the season starts, I pull out the ear plugs. My husband thinks the refs can hear him from FL.)

Also, I will happily concede the entire football season to you right now.

Did you attend UNC?
Neither my husband nor I attended Duke. We just put 2 kids through undergrad there. Maybe that's why I developed sleep apnea - the thought of all the money I poured into Duke literally takes my breath away!