New TAP PAP mask review

[Pugsy]

Unfortunately because it will take up to 2 weeks to arrive here in NZ

Sorry, I didn't notice where you were at. That does complicate things for sure.
Check your private message box please.

[Mask guy]

Hi,

The TAP PAP will be available in New Zealand in a few weeks! A lot of the mask design was actually done in NZ, so we are pleased that it will be one of the first countries that it will be released to.

We will post when and where the mask is availible in NZ on the TAP PAP face book site, if you "like" it you will receive notifications, or check it from time to time.

It should also come with return insurance in NZ, the manufacture is working with suppliers to provide this, so long as the dealer wants to as well.

Do you mind letting us know what company is your cpap provider, so we can let them know, at the time it is availible?

Good luck.

[ughwhatname]

I ordered on Friday morning, and it arrived today.

Is the thin, hard white plastic the only mouthguard piece? It seems like something is missing...

[Pugsy]

Is the thin, hard white plastic the only mouthguard piece? It seems like something is missing...

Yep, that's it. It isn't very big.

Have you watched the video? The 10 min one covers pretty much everything.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TAPAppliance?feature=watch

[newsnore]

Hi,

The TAP PAP will be available in New Zealand in a few weeks! A lot of the mask design was actually done in NZ, so we are pleased that it will be one of the first countries that it will be released to.

We will post when and where the mask is availible in NZ on the TAP PAP face book site, if you "like" it you will receive notifications, or check it from time to time.

It should also come with return insurance in NZ, the manufacture is working with suppliers to provide this, so long as the dealer wants to as well.

Do you mind letting us know what company is your cpap provider, so we can let them know, at the time it is availible?

Good luck.

Hi Mark,

That is good news. My sleep therapy clinic/ CPAP Provider is the Northland District Health Board, but I think there could be a separate entity who purchase all the equipment, so I don't know how much influence the technicians/therapists at NDHB have on what masks etc they can access and provide.

I am really hoping to get something sorted out soon, as I have to travel to the UK for several weeks towards the end of April, and because I am having a lot of sleep disturbance due leaks using the Opus 360, I am tossing up whether to take my CPAP with me, unless of course I get a better mask sorted out first. So probably doing it through the NDHB is not going to work in time for me, as the Public Health systems wheels here turn very slowly. Having said that - when they have turned they have been helpful to me.

[Papit]

I bet if you called cpap.com and explained your circumstances (and the 2-week shipping in each direction) that they will cut you some slack on the 30-day return time period. They're pretty reasonable folks. Stands to reason that putting something this big in your mouth every night will be ok for some and not ok for others. So I'd want to have that return privilege arranged for in advance.

[SleepyToo2]

I am confused. Pugsy says that the piece that goes in your mouth is not very big, Papit indicates the opposite. So which is it? I have a very small mouth, dentally speaking, so I am a little concerned if it is large.

[Pugsy]

I am confused. Pugsy says that the piece that goes in your mouth is not very big, Papit indicates the opposite. So which is it? I have a very small mouth, dentally speaking, so I am a little concerned if it is large.

Ask Papit if he actually has the mask or was just speaking sort of tongue in cheek.
I thought it was small. I don't have a big mouth (despite what some might say) and it doesn't cover my last 2 molars on either side.

Let me go try to measure it...

[Pugsy]

Mouth guard measurements...kinda hard with it being curved but here's what I come up with.
Bear in mind this fits my mouth but I didn't have to make any special widening to get it to fit.

1. Front to back.... 1 1/2 inches top of front to approx where a line would be run across the back.
2. Side to side at the very back molar end...2 1/4 inches
3. Top to bottom (the part that covers the front teeth...1/2 inch that appears to be the widest area for covering teeth

Looks smaller than the ones I have seen in Walmart that are boil and bite and for sure smaller than the typical cheap sports guards.

[SleepyToo2]

Thanks for the quick response, Pugsy, and for the PM. I'll have to measure my Silent Nite and see how it compares - just a little too early to do that at the moment. Looks promising, though.

[Mask guy]

Hi,

The tray will mould to the shape and size of your teeth, the walls of the tray are completely deformable during the moulding process. So the starting size of it is not that critical. You don't end up with a bulky tray in your mouth.

[Mask guy]

There have been a few questions about getting the TAP PAP through a DME.

You can ask your DME, but if they don't have it or want to stock it you could try contacting Lincare. They have many locations all over the country and their head office has it, the branch may just need to request it.

[SleepyToo2]

Mouth guard measurements...kinda hard with it being curved but here's what I come up with.
Bear in mind this fits my mouth but I didn't have to make any special widening to get it to fit.

1. Front to back.... 1 1/2 inches top of front to approx where a line would be run across the back.
2. Side to side at the very back molar end...2 1/4 inches
3. Top to bottom (the part that covers the front teeth...1/2 inch that appears to be the widest area for covering teeth

Looks smaller than the ones I have seen in Walmart that are boil and bite and for sure smaller than the typical cheap sports guards.

Maybe I don't have such a small mouth, after all! Your measurements are definitely smaller than mine. So, this is definitely a product I will consider buying when I'm next due for a replacement headgear.

Thanks again, Pugsy.

[Pugsy]

Well guys, I made it official just now. The Swift FX has been delegated to number 2 status so that pushes the Aloha to number 3 and the Pilairo and Opus 360 to probably a tie at number 4.
The Bella Loops with the Swift FX are really pretty good but my left ear seems to want to fold forward and it gets pinched.
I was going back and forth between the Loops and the traditional headgear pretty much split down the middle. Some nights I felt like Loops and some nights I felt like the traditional.

I have been sleeping very well with the Tap Pap. The mouth guard isn't presenting any problems at all.
I am not having any issues with the mask at all. No wake ups that can be blamed on the mask and in fact when I do wake up for some reason I really don't even feel like I have anything on at all.

For me...it works perfectly...suits my own particular needs and preferences.
It remains to be seen if the brain will learn to tell my mouth stay completely shut when on my back but I know that will take time but if it doesn't....it's like I have already said..my time with my mouth open is brief and often I don't even touch large leak territory and more importantly it doesn't wake me up so I am not going to worry about a few minutes here and there.
The freedom of the nasal pillow mask and now the Tap Pap and no headgear is more important to me than a nice perfect flat 0.0 leak line.

Serious mouth breathers....I think you are still going to need some sort of reminder to keep mouth shut but the freedom from the head gear may be worth it to you. At least until the brained gets retrained (if it is trainable). We are all individuals and we all have different preferences and things which make or break a mask deal for us.

Last night I barely had any leaks...some quick spikes to around 15 or 16 L/min and nothing prolonged.
95 % number was 6.0 L/min....for me...that's an awesome good number. If I ever saw a totally flat leak line I would be unplugging my machine to do the reboot thing because I always have a little leak of some sort in what is probably REM sleep. Oh...yeah.. I hit max IPAP of 20 last night...just barely but I hit it... and it didn't last long.
I think the aliens were messing with me again...funny thing about it was that it happened pretty much exactly one hour after I went to sleep. Maybe I got into REM sleep a little earlier than usual...REM is where my OSA is worse.
Or maybe the aliens again but at least they didn't mess with the leak line.

[Gerald?]

Hi,


We will post when and where the mask is availible in NZ on the TAP PAP face book site, if you "like" it you will receive notifications, or check it from time to time.

Could you post the same for Australia too please.

Thanks