teeth problems or sinus problems

[jane larsen]

Hi folks
im having problems with my teeth. My teeth have a continual ache. i wonder if anyone else using a cpap has any problems with tooth aches. i started using the cpap over a year ago...and my dentist is thinking that my sinus is involved. she cant find any problem with my teeth. i went to my doctor and she doesnt think its a sinus problem and is planning to xray my head to see whats going on....i just think tht perhaps my sinus may be inflammed by the use of the cpap. any suggestions?

[snoozysue]

I had sore teeth when I started last year (April - autumn in Australia). I had a night splint made because I thought maybe I was grinding my teeth but I finally worked out it was the cold air blowing on my teeth. I bought a heated hose and it was better the first night.

[robysue]

Jane, there's no doubt that sinus problems can cause tooth aches---and bad ones at that. A swollen, severely congested sinus can press down on the roots of the teeth in the upper jaw and that can cause severe pain. I've had it before and it's not fun. The solution for me was taking enough decongestants for a long enough time to properly dry out the sinus that was causing the problem. It was years ago so I don't remember exactly how long I was taking Sudafed; I think it was for a couple of weeks straight though.

Any idea why your doctor ruled out sinus problems so quickly? And any idea of what she's looking for with an x-ray?

[cflame1]

How about your jaw instead of merely just your teeth?

Could you maybe have your mask tightened too much?

[rosacer]

I started having a kind of pain on my front teeth, only 2 of them. This started end of November and get worse each day. At the beginning it was only one of them but it was hard to say which one, at that time I has been using the Headrest nasal pillows for around 7 months.

The dentists decided to make a root canal treatment to the front tooth (the one beside had already a root canal). This was done the last week of December, but to my amazement the pain continued. She reopened the canal and did all the stuff deeper once again. I noticed too, I was closing very hard the teeth while sleeping.

To make the story short, one week ago I decided to start using again the Activa nasal mask. Surprise, the pain started receding. Today I have almost no pain.

I think, for a reason I don't understand I started pushing the teeth to the front (all the sudden I was grinding the teeth very hard without really noticing it) when I used the Headrest (nasal pillows). The Activa nasal mask makes the opposite, it pushes the front teeth back to the interior of the mouth. I hope the pain won't be back in a couple of days when I will try to use again the Headrest.

And by the way, I had made a night splint in December too but I was unable to use it; the pain in the morning was worse using it. Maybe there was a problem with the matrix, I will try to use it again and see what happens. In any case I was very preoccupied with that pain. Note that I had pain on two teeth which have no root, consequently I shouldn't feel any pain at all, very weir.

I wish you to be able to find a way to find and control the reason you are having pain. I suggest you to change your mask for a couple of days and check if there is a difference; change the kind of mask not only a model of the same kind ex. nasal pillows to nasal or to full face.

Good success

[Janknitz]

The CPAP pushes my lower jaw forward just very slightly, but it's enough that my bite doesn't line up and I had a lot of tooth pain at first. Your dentist may simply not see this in the office without the CPAP on. I noticed that i can't really close my teeth when the CPAP pressure is on.

The pain disappeared after a while, but I was going to ask for more help from my dentist (who did agree this was probably the cause) if it didn't get better.

A FF mask can push the jaw back and cause the same issue, and there can also be irritation of the TMJ from the pressure of the straps--the pain may be referred to your teeth.

Too many things, but ask your dentist to consider all of these as possibilities, too.

[rosacer]

Thanks for the information Janknitz, it's good to know the FFM can produce problems too, I was thinking at the possibility to try one of those.

My dentist here knows nothing about OSA related problems . The dentist I visit on December was not my usual dentist and I think she doesn't know anything about OSA nether. Not easy situation, I don't know what to do, all was going number one with my Headrest until this pain started.

I notice my teeth are misaligned, when I close the jaws the molars doesn't touch now because the front teeth doesn't allow to close enough the jaws; very boring situation. I imagine something happened without I noticed.

I hope things become normal in some way.

[Country4ever]

My TMJ problems surfaced after using cpap for a couple years. My dentist also said that my nasal pillow mask could definitely be pushing on my top teeth back.
I've always had fairly sensitive teeth, so I've been using Sensodyne and my pain is gone. Yes, you can definitely have painful top teeth especially with a sinus problem. You might need to be assessed for TMJ too.

[snoozysue]

What treatment was prescribed for the TMJ? How is it "fixed" if it is CPAP related and you need to keep uisng the equipment?

[cflame1]

What I got was a bite guard from my dentist (that way it's fitted properly). I wear it nightly with my xpap gear.

[Stephen001]

Though dental pain is always confused with pain associated with sinus, there is a difference between the two. Sinus pain occurs when there is trouble with the maxillary sinuses whereas dental pain occurs when there is trouble with the teeth. It is recommended that you visit a dentist as soon as possible in both cases.

[Country4ever]

jane.......many people use a less expensive mouthguard your dentist can make. I, unfortunately, needed a MORA (mandibular orthopedic reposition appliance) for my problem, which was extremely expensive. You may be just grinding your teeth and a less expensive mouthguard custom made for you might be all you need to take that constant pressure off your teeth.
Maxillary sinus problems can give you upper teeth pain, since the nerves in the maxillary sinus sit right on top of the upper teeth.