Help! Mask hurting front teeth.

[DreamBig]

I am desparate for help and don't know where to turn.

I am still trying to find a mask that works and doesn't hurt. With that in mind I have been using the Sleepweaver Élan for the past several weeks. (This is a mask my sleep dr gave me after I begged for her help. I did not have a titration study and this mask May or may not be the right size.)

I love how the élan feels but cannot make it through the night with several wake ups probably because I would move and the mask would leak. I began to notice that my top front teeth hurt when I would wake up in the morning. I started to worry that the mask was causing this and I would soon have another problem (my teeth would move or something) to deal with. I realize that it sounds crazy to think that a piece of fabric across my skin between my nose and upper lip could be having any effect on my teeth. I do not have the mask tight as I can still get my fingers between the straps and my face as their video shows. So after several weeks of using the élan and trying to make it work, I have now switched to a Wisp (Unfortunatly with the stiff "cloth" headgear). I've been using it for four nights and I'm sleeping for longer stretches with the Wisp.

This morning the pain around my teeth has prompted me to take ibuprofen with no relief. I is painful to try to eat. Before my adventure with sleep apnea and the cpap began in October, I was using a mouth guard (on the bottom teeth) for TMJ. My jaw is also hurting this morning so I guess I'll start back up with wearing the guard. I had stopped in the past couple months because I had stopped grinding.

I am posting this big whine to the forum because I honestly don't think I'll get any help from my dr, sleep dr, DME (on my third one), PT or dentist. I don't have any faith in the "professionals" in the sleep apnea field that I've encountered. I am very discouraged and so tired of this struggle to get sleep, get better and to get help.
I am using a homemade chin strap from an ace bandage that is pinned to a good tension. I've tried several and tried to make several more with no luck. The ace bandage works the best for me but is not perfect.

Please let me know if you have any advice or have remedied this situation yourself.
Thank you

[49er]

I am desparate for help and don't know where to turn.

I am still trying to find a mask that works and doesn't hurt. With that in mind I have been using the Sleepweaver Élan for the past several weeks. (This is a mask my sleep dr gave me after I begged for her help. I did not have a titration study and this mask May or may not be the right size.)

I love how the élan feels but cannot make it through the night with several wake ups probably because I would move and the mask would leak. I began to notice that my top front teeth hurt when I would wake up in the morning. I started to worry that the mask was causing this and I would soon have another problem (my teeth would move or something) to deal with. I realize that it sounds crazy to think that a piece of fabric across my skin between my nose and upper lip could be having any effect on my teeth. I do not have the mask tight as I can still get my fingers between the straps and my face as their video shows. So after several weeks of using the élan and trying to make it work, I have now switched to a Wisp (Unfortunatly with the stiff "cloth" headgear). I've been using it for four nights and I'm sleeping for longer stretches with the Wisp.

This morning the pain around my teeth has prompted me to take ibuprofen with no relief. I is painful to try to eat. Before my adventure with sleep apnea and the cpap began in October, I was using a mouth guard (on the bottom teeth) for TMJ. My jaw is also hurting this morning so I guess I'll start back up with wearing the guard. I had stopped in the past couple months because I had stopped grinding.

I am posting this big whine to the forum because I honestly don't think I'll get any help from my dr, sleep dr, DME (on my third one), PT or dentist. I don't have any faith in the "professionals" in the sleep apnea field that I've encountered. I am very discouraged and so tired of this struggle to get sleep, get better and to get help.
I am using a homemade chin strap from an ace bandage that is pinned to a good tension. I've tried several and tried to make several more with no luck. The ace bandage works the best for me but is not perfect.

Please let me know if you have any advice or have remedied this situation yourself.
Thank you

Dreambig,

There is a sleep medicine dentist who posts on this board who is in Florida. His screen name is sleepdent. You might want register for the forum and PM him to see if he could help regarding your TMJ.

http://www.apneasupport.org/sleep-apnea ... n-f20.html

Have you worn any full face masks because I have heard of them causing teeth pain? But it doesn't seem the elan would be capable of doing that but obviously, I am not a medical professional.

Best of luck.

49er

[DreamBig]

Thanks for your reply 49er.

I have posted my post on the forum you linked to. I am a member there as well.

My experience with a FFM was to be given one by my first RT (no other options were offered and I didn't know any better at the time). I could not make it through the first two nights of treatment using the FFM (claustrophobic) and insisted they provide me with another mask. My PT's husband delivered nasal pillows that I thought would be the answer. It didn't stay on my head and I felt I wasn't getting enough air. This prompted me to beg my sleep dr for something else and she gave me the one listed in my signature. After weeks using it, I had to stop because my face hurt every morning.

Thank you

[49er]

Thanks for your reply 49er.

I have posted my post on the forum you linked to. I am a member there as well.

My experience with a FFM was to be given one by my first RT (no other options were offered and I didn't know any better at the time). I could not make it through the first two nights of treatment using the FFM (claustrophobic) and insisted they provide me with another mask. My PT's husband delivered nasal pillows that I thought would be the answer. It didn't stay on my head and I felt I wasn't getting enough air. This prompted me to beg my sleep dr for something else and she gave me the one listed in my signature. After weeks using it, I had to stop because my face hurt every morning.

Thank you

Hi again DreamBig,

If you don't get a response, PM sleepdent for assistance as he is usually good about responding.

I do wonder if the TMJ is your issue and not the specific masks. But again, i am not an expert.

Good luck.

49er

[DreamBig]

Hi 49er,
No replies on either forum.
I just sent a PM to sleep dent on the other forum.

It may be the TMJ rearing it's ugly head in a new way. I'll wear my mouth guard tonight because I don't know what else to do.

Thanks for your replies

[jencat824]

You may need to wear some kind of retainer at night. I didn't know about this 14 years ago & I am undergoing expensive dental work now that includes braces. I should have been told by my dentist at that time (or figured it out myself) that pain=teeth probably moving. You may want to call around dentists in your area to find one who can make you a retainer before you have any damage.

Good luck,

Jen

[Komodo]

My PT's husband delivered nasal pillows that I thought would be the answer. It didn't stay on my head and I felt I wasn't getting enough air.

I too have problems with my teeth. I switch back & forth between a nasal mask (Comfortgel Blue) and nasal pillows (Swift FX).
The nasal pillows work great for no teeth pain.
As far as you not getting enough air thru the pillows, I had that problem too when I first tried it. I was using the medium sized pillows, which should be my correct size. I switched over to the LARGE size pillows, which did fit, and, gave me a LOT more air coming into my nose.

I also had the problem of the pillow mask falling off my head. It took a while, and a lot of "tweaking" of the straps, but I can now wear it without it coming off.
Most of the time anyway!

My opinion, for what it's worth, is to give the pillows another try. Experiment with the mask during the day when you're wide awake. Switch the pillows to LARGE, play with the straps, get it fit you the best you can. Give it another couple of nights try before you give up on it. If you can get to to work for you, it WILL WORK without hurting your teeth.

[DreamBig]

You may need to wear some kind of retainer at night. I didn't know about this 14 years ago & I am undergoing expensive dental work now that includes braces. I should have been told by my dentist at that time (or figured it out myself) that pain=teeth probably moving. You may want to call around dentists in your area to find one who can make you a retainer before you have any damage.

Good luck,

Jen

I wore the Wisp last night with the bottom straps so loose I thought for sure it would leak. No leaks woke me or my husband up. I haven't checked my numbers. My teeth don't hurt anything like they did yesterday. What slight pain I do have is, I think, leftover from the night before.

I will ask my dentist about a retainer. Because I would still like to keep using the Sleepweaver mask. Hopefully, it will be less expensive than the TMJ guard I have (bottom teeth).

Thanks for your help!

[DreamBig]

My PT's husband delivered nasal pillows that I thought would be the answer. It didn't stay on my head and I felt I wasn't getting enough air.

I too have problems with my teeth. I switch back & forth between a nasal mask (Comfortgel Blue) and nasal pillows (Swift FX).
The nasal pillows work great for no teeth pain.
As far as you not getting enough air thru the pillows, I had that problem too when I first tried it. I was using the medium sized pillows, which should be my correct size. I switched over to the LARGE size pillows, which did fit, and, gave me a LOT more air coming into my nose.

I also had the problem of the pillow mask falling off my head. It took a while, and a lot of "tweaking" of the straps, but I can now wear it without it coming off.
Most of the time anyway!

My opinion, for what it's worth, is to give the pillows another try. Experiment with the mask during the day when you're wide awake. Switch the pillows to LARGE, play with the straps, get it fit you the best you can. Give it another couple of nights try before you give up on it. If you can get to to work for you, it WILL WORK without hurting your teeth.

I will take your suggestion and try the large pillows. But I still don't know how to keep the headgear in place. I guess I have silky hair, although I really don't move around anymore with the constant attempt at leak prevention. But I'll try.

I don't understand why on earth with all the problems we have keeping these masks where they need to be on our heads that masks are not built with better headgear. Something more substantial. I've tried making chinstraps and tried to incorporate the headgear into straps but with not much success...but I'm not a seamstress, can't work on my own head very well, and I'm not feeling that creative lately! Venting...sorry. It just seems like there are all these people (DME's, RTS, sleep drs) ready to get paid for not to impressive service, why isn't there someone making something that we really need to enable our therapy to work.

I'll stop now. Thanks for your suggestion. It's next on my list.

[BlackSpinner]

Some people use a cap over their hair to keep the straps from slipping but also to keep the straps from damaging their hair.

Look up something called "pap cap" on our host's site.

[DreamBig]

I practiced with the pillows yesterday and found that the small size worked best. I don't have large and the medium would not seal and air was just blowing out. I put my chinstrap on, then the pillows, layer down and turned on. Everything seemed to be working.

Bedtime and I put everything back on and turned on and although I could feel air coming out of the vents I could not breath any in. Turned off, turned on and tried again. I felt like I was suffocating. I took it off and wanted to throw it against the wall but didn't. I used the wisp again last night with very loose straps again. I also used my (lower teeth) TMJ guard because my jaw started hurting yesterday.

I slept through the night with no wake ups, which was great, but now my teeth and jaw hurt.

I feel very hopeless. Do I call my dr? I just don't think she'll know what to do with me.
Sleep dr? I think she'll say what would I like her to do for me and that I'm not due for a new mask
Dentist? There is a dentist in his office who does sleep apnea appliances but I don't think I want to do that at this point. I guess I can (as suggested above) ask about a retainer for my upper teeth to sleep in.
RT? I'm still waiting on a call from my new (third one should be a charm, right? First two could not get it right) RT. Maybe he/she will surprise me and be helpful and help me through this.

I have looked at the Papcap online before. I have a small head and from the reviews it sounds like I would be modifying it...for $35...not ready to do that. I did make a version of that with a baseball cap and strap to Velcro to it. I tried it with no real success. It's in my ever-growing box of supplies.

Thanks for listening

[archangle]

Have you tried something like a Swift FX nasal pillow? Very little pressure on the teeth with that.

[49er]

Hi 49er,
No replies on either forum.
I just sent a PM to sleep dent on the other forum.

It may be the TMJ rearing it's ugly head in a new way. I'll wear my mouth guard tonight because I don't know what else to do.

Thanks for your replies

DreamBig,

If you haven't heard from Dr. Luisi, try emailing him also to see if that gets a faster response.

49er