Polident Strips or Paste - Need instructions from a "pro"

[JoyD.]

.
I've been taping nightly. Today I bought Polident Strips to try. Came home and tried a couple times to apply them.
Here's what I ran into:

1. My lips are wider from side to side than the strip is long. So what about the space at each side without strip coverage?

2. My lips are curved; the strips are straight.

3. When I try smearing the wet tape around to fit my curved mouth and stretch it from one corner to the other of
my mouth, I end up with several unruly globby pieces

3. Do I apply the wet strip at the inside edge of my lip where the mucous membrane is? If I place it on the lip itself, then I have to roll my lips in to get them to stick together (looking like granny w'/o teeth). Surely I don't sleep all night with my lips rolled in .. .. .....

4. Evidently there is a PRECISE SCIENTIFIC METHOD for this procedure that eludes me

HELP You Polident People . . . what's the scoop? Also, for those who have tried both . . . is the paste easier to get good coverage and a stronger seal?

TIA,
Joy
PS - Now that I've finished writing this post, it occurs to me that my lips are GLUED TIGHTLY SHUT Guess it dried . . . but I feel all these slimy ICKY strip glob pieces on the inside with my tongue. YUK. Can the paste be applied so it is a thin smooth seal w/o icky, globby pieces??

[robertmarilyn]

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Because I have wimpily tiptoed up to a pressure of 12.2, I am finding that a wee bit of air wants to escape my lips from time to time...so I had been pondering (I think too much so I do ponder things) the use of the Polident Strips. For this reason I eagerly opened your post to read your experiences. And your post cracked me up...sorry...but it felt good to laugh so hard

I've been taping nightly. Today I bought Polident Strips to try. Came home and tried a couple times to apply them.
Here's what I ran into:

1. My lips are wider from side to side than the strip is long. So what about the space at each side without strip coverage?

2. My lips are curved; the strips are straight.

3. When I try smearing the wet tape around to fit my curved mouth and stretch it from one corner to the other of
my mouth, I end up with several unruly globby pieces

3. Do I apply the wet strip at the inside edge of my lip where the mucous membrane is? If I place it on the lip itself, then I have to roll my lips in to get them to stick together (looking like granny w'/o teeth). Surely I don't sleep all night with my lips rolled in .. .. .....

Knowing what you look like, because we've seen your non primate avatar in the past, I had all kinds of giggles picturing this sorry
We need pictures of this "lips rolling in" business because when I read instructions on how to do this, I still can't figure it out. Please some brave soul, pictures Oh, and Joy, you could provide the "how not to do it pictures"

4. Evidently there is a PRECISE SCIENTIFIC METHOD for this procedure that eludes me

HELP You Polident People . . . what's the scoop? Also, for those who have tried both . . . is the paste easier to get good coverage and a stronger seal?

TIA,
Joy
PS - Now that I've finished writing this post, it occurs to me that my lips are GLUED TIGHTLY SHUT Guess it dried . . . but I feel all these slimy ICKY strip glob pieces on the inside with my tongue. YUK. Can the paste be applied so it is a thin smooth seal w/o icky, globby pieces??

There are hoof boots that you can glue onto your horses bare or shod hooves. The glue is a two part activating type. Once you mix the two together you have like 2 seconds to get that boot on the hoof with the glue where it needs to be...and since the heat that comes from combining the two parts of the glue together, causes the whole mess to expand...when I do this, it looks like a science project gone bad.

I have pictures where one of my horses is standing on our concrete driveway, with his 4 newly glued on boots on his hooves. He doesn't know it but his the boots are not only glued to his hooves but the boots are glued to the driveway. It was one of those "quick, get the camera before all hell breaks loose" moments...fortunately all went well because I had Scout unglued from the driveway as quickly as I could do so and he never even knew he'd been stuck.

mar

[JoyD.]

Mar,

Oh ma' gosh . . . POOR, POOR PONY . Sounds like you are as talented as I with the gummy stuff

Maybe we'd better stay away from polident, cement, and anything similar . . . especially when sleep deprived. No tellin' what we'll glue to what

Joy

PS - Took me a WHILE to get rid of the slick, slimy stuff with soap and water - perhaps tape is easier after all

Where are you POLIDENT PEOPLE??? Gone in hiding??

Joy

[robertmarilyn]

Where are you POLIDENT PEOPLE??? Gone in hiding??
Joy

I'm sorry Joy, I probably scared them into hiding with my request for pictures
mar

[moombeam]

I found the same problem with the strips only rolling my lips in didn't work. mine
came apart. There just the right spot between the lips and the inside of your mouth.
It takes special talent to get those strips just the right wetness and in the right place
without to much movement or they goop-up and split. I felt like my fingers would stick
together before I got my mouth sealed.
I use one whole and 1/2 strip to fit my mouth. The mirror became my best friend for
awhile They will not allow themselves to became oval shaped in anyway. So you have this square end sticking out of the corners of your mouth Very Vampirish looking.

Warm, Warm water with a wash cloth and lots of rubbing will finally remove the feeling
of gooey lips.
Once you find the knack it works .
The thought of taping isn't for me, I can get my mouth in one big yawn . I use a chin strap
at night also.
It's what one prefers and taping is also an art from of it's own.
One strip lover.
Moonbeam

[anotherRandy]

I don't understand the problem. You can "bend" the strips to conform to the contours of your lips. I just bend 'em with my fingers prior to placement. Practice will help you find exactly where to place them to minimize inside or outside overage. Occasionally, I still guess wrong (after 3 months).

I use 2 strips. This goes against the insructions which warn against overlapping; it's not been a problem for me. I DO NOT purse my lips; I keep them in their natural shape. Then, I follow up with blue 2" painter's tape.

It works great for me.... Swift LT with leaks in the 0.00 to 0.20 range.

[DBoone]

I've tried the strips too but they didn't work for me. They got real gooey and messy and yuck! That's when I ran across a post suggesting a stretchy bandage wrap and that works pretty good for me. I'm getting it at CVS pharmacy and it's called "Gentle Tape". Its a latex free first aid wrap. I wrap it around my head about three times while trying not to get it too tight but tight enough to be effective.

[BadBreath]

Been using them for almost two years. You curve the strip by a series of small bends until it matches the curve of your mouth. I wet my lips with my tongue and the strip in my mouth with saliva. Push it into place (with my tongue) in the center of my mouth to where I can just feel the edges of the strip at both the inside and outside of my lips. If the curve is wrong I can tell and correct it then. Push my lips together tightly to adhere. If it is too dry I add a little more saliva with my tongue. If it is too wet I open my mouth and let it dry a little. The same corrections can be made during the night, or if I have to open my mouth for some reason and want to reseal.

I just use the one strip in the center. The strip doesn't so much create an airtight seal as it keeps the lips closed. With my lips held closed my tongue is trapped and no air leaks out of my mouth, including the gaps at either side. With higher pressures that may not be enough, which is why some use tape or an elastic band in addition.

[TerryB]

I use one Polident strip torn into two pieces to break up the extra width of my mouth into three parts (left, middle, right side gap). I also use a chin strap so that the strip only has to keep the lips shut, not support the jaw also. I sometimes mess up and get a strip too far inside so it turns to mush, but for the most part it is a reliable process. To tear the strip I just grasp both ends with index finger and thumb and pull it into two equal (more or less) parts.

Good luck,
TerryB

[Violet]

Patience & Practice.

Some use polident strips simply to keep their mouth shut. But, I believe for most, it is to prevent "blow fishing". Just the smallest leak from between the lips with either method could cause problems with therapy.

So choose your method, either to simply keep your mouth shut or prevent blow fishing.

For blowfishing, even the smallest leak causes condensation under the tape (for those who use tape). Use 2 strips, each bent with fingers and applied to lips with the center overlapping a little works great. (anotherrandy's comment in this post explains it perfectly)

Patience & Practice. Don't expect anything to work perfectly the first time or few times thereafter.

[yardbird]

To conform to the curve of your lips you can also just rip it in half and use each piece to roughly form a "V".

No lip pursing, no curling lips in. No curling lips out. With strips in place they should be wherever your lips meet naturally.

This does take some practice, both in positioning and in how much moisture you need. If you're a drooler, all bets are off. Best advice I can give there is leave yourself a drain at the corners of your mouth.

If you can't span your ENTIRE lip, concentrate on the middle. Seems much more difficult to induce leaks out the corners of your mouth.

If you leave a little unsealed space at the sides of your lips, you can sip water through a straw.

As with all things CPAP, different people will experience differing degrees of success with this. And if you're the impatient type and just give up early on, well then... good luck with your taping.

I've used both methods. Polident strips and taping. I really don't have a preference and both seem to work for me. It's just a matter of what I feel like doing before I go to bed.

[carbonman]

.
I've been taping nightly. Today I bought Polident Strips to try.

HELP You Polident People . . . what's the scoop? Also, for those who have tried both . . . is the paste easier to get good coverage and a stronger seal?

TIA,
Joy
PS - Now that I've finished writing this post, it occurs to me that my lips are GLUED TIGHTLY SHUT Guess it dried . . . but I feel all these slimy ICKY strip glob pieces on the inside with my tongue. YUK. Can the paste be applied so it is a thin smooth seal w/o icky, globby pieces??

JoyD, I was once a Polident People.
I have experienced all those things you wrote about.

I know many don't want to hear it, but here it comes again....

FFM.

Makes life so much more simple.

[yardbird]

Yeah if you can get one that seals!

[moombeam]

Great fitting advice. Has anyone tried the paste.

[Violet]

OMG, don't go the paste way! nasty