2 weeks in - Periodic Dry Mouth with mouth taped.... why?

[ReefWashMo]

I have had Resmed airsense 10 Auto for almost 2 weeks now. I have worn the three trial masks I was given for 3-4 days each and like and dislike each for various reasons. I have 2 nasal masks, and 1 cushion, but no full masks. I learned early on that my mouth would come open during sleep, and air would blast out of my mouth waking me pretty quickly as it dried me out. I read about mouth taping and tried this. It helped immensely! no more air leaks through my mouth, just the occasional mask slip when I slept on side. Now I am waking up anywere form 2-10 times a night with a horribly dry mouth despite it being taped shut! How is this possible? and what can I do about it. Obviously air is making its way from my mask, through my nose into my mouth, but its not escaping out my mouth... I am stumped. I have the humidity cranked up to max. Any thoughts? I do not have a full face mask, but will it stop this? If my mouth is taped, but still getting dry, wont a full mask do the same thing?

Thanks!

[Pugsy]

Any thoughts? I do not have a full face mask, but will it stop this? If my mouth is taped, but still getting dry, wont a full mask do the same thing?

A full face mask is unlikely to stop the problem if taping the mouth (assuming tape stays secure).
There are many forum members using full face masks, even at max humidity, that still have dry mouth issues.

First thing to look at...medication side effects that might cause an increase in dryness?????
Second thing is humidifier setting???? What brand and model machine and what humidity setting are you using?

I read an article a while back that explained what you are having happening and we can't blame mouth breathing since the mouth is taped shut. I thought I saved the link but I can't seem to find it right now but I will go look more. It was written by a well respected doctor and I thought when I read it that his reasoning made sense. I don't think he offered a solution though.
It has to do with air going up the nose and entering the mouth on its way down the airway. Even though the lips are taped shut the air dries out the oral cavity.

You may have to use an oral hydrating agent of your choice (trial and error to find one that works well for you) just like full face mask users have to use.

[Pugsy]

Not what I was looking for but I found this.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5359345/

[Country4ever]

I have always worn a nasal mask and taped my mouth for about 14 years. But......recently I noticed that I tend to blow air into my mouth and I'm sure it must stay there for awhile, all through the night. I, too, have ended up with the worst dry mouth ever. It goes away quickly once I'm up, but I'm pretty sure it's from the air that stays forced in my mouth during the night. I'm so tired of taping my mouth shut. I'm going to start to look for a full face mask.

[ReefWashMo]

Thanks for the input... I hate articles that describe my problem exactly... but offer no solution!

I reached out to my DME and I am still within the 30 days for me to ry a different mask with no additional charges. I am going to try a full mask and see if that makes a difference, but I can not get in for 2 weeks. Until then I will try to will myself to close my isthmus faucium by contracting the base of my tongue against the pillars and opening the mouth, so that the oral cavity regains normal atmospheric pressure as the good doctor says!

[Country4ever]

good luck to you! I have read in the past here where people have trained themselves not to lose air through their mouth. I have absolutely no idea how that is possible when you are totally asleep. Maybe we should try to train ourselves to do that somehow. I was thinking of trying it sometime soon, to not tape my mouth for a night and see how it goes. Maybe we unconsciously can know to close our mouth when it starts happening? But I have my doubts. when our mouth gets so completely dry at night it makes me wonder if it has an impact on our teeth too. Anyhow… Good luck to you and let us know how it goes with a full face mask.

[ReefWashMo]

Dental issues is exactly why I am worried, I have heard of this being a major issue for others, but then I think back to a few weeks ago prior to CPAP, I was a major mouth snorer all my adult life... it can't be any worse than that!

The other thing is, when I went to sleep center for titration study, i slept on my back the whole time, and my mouth never came open once! I was knew it wasn't good for the test, so I kind of willed myself to keep it closed, maybe there is something to the theory of training yourself not to. I know it happened two or three times last night as well, always in a deep sleep, so that theory seems more and more like BS! lol

[Miss Emerita]

Some people get relief from Xylimelts, which are small discs that stick to your gums or teeth and stimulate the production of saliva throughout the night.