Mouth guard helps with breathing & teeth grinding

[SleepyT]

I recently read about this on this forum...cannot remember who posted it (thank you!) but it seems worthy of its own thread. I purchased a mouth guard at a drug store some months ago...paid around $20 for it and was dissatisfied with the results. It was uncomfortable and easy for me to eject it at night.. which I did routinely. But the clenching and grinding of my teeth continued so I started looking for other solutions. Someone mentioned buying a mouth guard at Wal-Mart in the sporting goods section...the kind designed for athletes...not one specifically for teeth grinding. I bought one for 96 cents....boil and bite type...and it works great. I cannot easily dislodge it in the night...it's comfortable...and it helps me NOT breathe out of my mouth (I use a nasal pillows mask along with a PapCap chinstrap). Last night I had zero leaks....my teeth don't hurt this morning....and my AHI was 1.9. Two birds with one stone! Thanks again to the person who turned me on to this. Always great tips on this forum!

[SleepingUgly]

I went to Walmart and the only mouth guards I could fine go over the top teeth only. Is that what people are talking about? How can that move the lower jaw forward if it is only on the top teeth?

[SleepyT]

I went to Walmart and the only mouth guards I could fine go over the top teeth only. Is that what people are talking about? How can that move the lower jaw forward if it is only on the top teeth?

You're right...it only covers the top teeth. It doesn't have anything to do with moving the lower jaw forward. It only protects teeth from grinding on teeth...and as a wonderful side effect...it makes it harder to lose air therapy out of my mouth. I just seem to keep my mouth closed easier with it...and my chinstrap.

[SleepingUgly]

Alright, well maybe someone who described buying a mouth guard and boiling and biting it with the lower jaw forward will come forward and explain.

[-SWS]

Alright, well maybe someone who described buying a mouth guard and boiling and biting it with the lower jaw forward will come forward and explain.

Some boil-and-bite mouth guards used for sports have one channel for upper teeth and another channel for lower teeth. See the Brain Pad models here as boil-and-bite examples with dual-channels:
http://www.sportsauthority.com/family/i ... 1&view=all

Brain Pad's boil-and-bite fitting instructions:
http://www.brainpads.com/images/stories ... 2_2008.pdf

And here are a few more "double mouth guards":
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... rd&x=0&y=0

Unfortunately I have no first-hand experience with these to share.... Maybe others can comment.

[SleepingUgly]

Thanks! I was pretty sure someone had said something about the cheapo Walmart one used to move the lower teeth forward. I'll search for it.

[-SWS]

Thanks! I was pretty sure someone had said something about the cheapo Walmart one used to move the lower teeth forward. I'll search for it.

That's what I thought also.

I added another Amazon link above for the term "double mouth guard". Here's an eBay search for the same:
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid ... Categories

[StevenXXXX]

Thanks! I was pretty sure someone had said something about the cheapo Walmart one used to move the lower teeth forward. I'll search for it.

I think she(?) said it did that for "her" - but the specs for it do not mention anything about it being able to do that.

I already had one I had purchased a while back hoping it would help with an overbite, but had never used.

I tried it when I saw the post you mentioned - but it did NOTHING for me.

[-SWS]

This $2.77 dental guard at Walmart is a dual-channel boil-and-bite:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Everlast-Clea ... s/11996076

http://www.everlast.com/Double-Guard-Mo ... nfo/EVDMP/

[wally13]

I recently bought the upper Walmart mouthguard ( I believe made by Rawlings) for $1.00. It has significantly reduced my mouthbreathing loss when I am using my Swift nasal pillow setup and Purecom chinstrap. My jaw will still will fall at times and get some air escaping. Maybe an upper and lower mouthguard will solve the problem completely. Will have to try.

[jeja]

I have been using a mouth guard for several years.(boil/bite) Used the Drug store version and the sports version from a local sports store. both work well, not perfect; but it does stop me breathing through my mouth

[scrapper]

I'm thrilled that it works for you...............when I first started mentioning it, people thought I was nuts (I am, but it has nothing to do with my comment that I found the cheapo boil & bite mouthguard to stop mouth breathing during cpap usage). I got all kinds of questions asking for studies to prove this phenomenon, etc.........I've never looked for them. I only use the mouthguard as intended for the upper jaw.....

Glad it works for all! Finally there's something that works and is cheap for cpap!