Tap Pap Review

[Bobshouse]

Benny, which model of tappap do you have the old one where it fits to all of your teeth or the new one with no fitting for the front teeth.

[BigBennyB]

Benny, which model of tappap do you have the old one where it fits to all of your teeth or the new one with no fitting for the front teeth.

I've got the clear and white one that fits over the front of the front teeth, but nothing behind the front teeth

[Pugsy]

Do you happen to have much of an overbite with your front teeth?
To have that much discomfort so early on in the evening is really unusual.
You are using the newer, thinner improved mouth guard. I have a feeling the older model would make things worse for you since it seems to cause even more pressure on the front teeth in front and behind.
I never had any discomfort at all at the beginning of the night. I had some minor discomfort when I took the mouth guard off in the AM but that went away in a couple of hours...and after a couple of weeks I didn't even have that.
This was with the old mouth guard too...It was a couple of months before I got to test the new improved mouth guard and it was a LOT more comfortable.

Perhaps your teeth are just more sensitive to the pressure. If you can't sleep with it you can't get your teeth used to it.
So it makes it really hard to get past the point where the teeth no longer are sensitive to the pressure.

[flyingwithoutwings]

Do you happen to have much of an overbite with your front teeth?

Does it a big difference if one has an overbite?

[Pugsy]

Does it a big difference if one has an overbite?

No. It shouldn't but I asked because of his mention of having difficulty getting it secure.
If the teeth will fit in the mouth guard before the fitting procedure it should fit well after the fitting but if the over bite is extremely large then the teeth might not fit in the guard well before the boil and fit.
Like a long narrow U shape of the teeth vs the more gentle U shape that most of us have.

I have a friend whose bite wouldn't work with the Tap Pap at all. His teeth are extremely crowded and the overall shape of the gum/teeth is more of a V than a U. Not totally pointed V at the front teeth but sure more of a V than a U.

[BigBennyB]

I'm not sure. My central incisors extend past my bottom teeth by maybe a couple of mm

[Pugsy]

Couple of mm isn't much of an overbite. I was thinking more along the lines of eating corn on the cob through a picket fence.
My upper front teeth rest over my bottom teeth a little myself.
Have you seen your dentist lately?
Is the pain in the front teeth only or all the teeth in general?

[BigBennyB]

Couple of mm isn't much of an overbite. I was thinking more along the lines of eating corn on the cob through a picket fence.
My upper front teeth rest over my bottom teeth a little myself.
Have you seen your dentist lately?
Is the pain in the front teeth only or all the teeth in general?

The first couple of nights, the pain was in the top right front (central and lateral). Last night, the pain was in all 4 centrals and laterals. And when I say pain, I'm not talking like OWW pain, but more of a dull ache that will eventually turn into a really bad, deep ache

[Pugsy]

Sounds like what you are getting fairly quickly in the night is what I may have had when I removed the guard in the AM that lasted for a couple of weeks in AM only.
Dull ache sort of. It's hard to compare though because I am not in your body.

It shouldn't cause so much discomfort that you can't sleep though. That's totally unacceptable.
I don't know what else to offer that might make things easier for you.

When I first got the Tap Pap my husband rolled his eyes and said "I don't think you are going to like that" but I put it in and slept right through the night without issues the very first night. Surprised him and me both because normally the first night with any mask can have some sort of minor issues and I have tried LOTS of nasal pillow masks in the past 4 years.

Utilize every bit of the time you have before it needs to be returned to see if the discomfort will diminish if you think the mask is worth investing the time.
You might check with your dentist to make sure that there is no other underlying problem that the guard may be making worse.
My dentist thought it was a heck of a good idea. I explained what I went through in terms of discomfort and he said that was normal and since it faded away there wasn't an issue.

[Chilibit]

Based on my own experience, and acknowledging that the fitting of the mouthpiece can be fiddly, I would keep re-trying the fitting process. It should be possible to have it snap into place without causing noticeable pressure of discomfort anywhere. It does not really have to be "tight." Mine required that I abandon all the recommended sucking business and then it was fine. The instinctive approach is to aim for tight and imagine that it will loosen over time. I recommend that you aim for a loose fit and then re-boil and tighten down the road if necessary. I suspect you will not tighten it. We are all different. In my case, nothing even comes close to the Tap Pap for comfort, ease, and lack of leakage.

[khauser]

Benny, I have a couple of thoughts. One of your posts made it seem like the only teeth it molded around are in the front. If that's true then you're not doing the fit correctly. It should mold around all of the teeth as far back as it extends. Perhaps you are not closing your mouth with a natural bite?

Also, at this point I would encourage you to give it a night's (or day's, for you) break. Your teeth are mad at you and ultra-sensative.

The design of the mouth part causes it to shrink as it cools. If you take it out of your mouth too soon, it will shrink too much. Also, don't be afraid to run it under hot water to loosen it up if it feels tight. You may need to do this a couple of times (ie, days) before it really fits well.

It should stay in place without hurting. Mine is now just a little loose, but the looseness happens in the morning. So I put it in at night and it's tight. By the morning I might experience MAYBE 1mm of vertical movement when I clench vs relax.

It's a bummer that you're having such trouble with it. Once you get it fit, you'll really love it. Do you have the ability to see a dentist? They know how this material works (it's similar to some stuff used to make molds, etc) so perhaps can aide you in fitting it.

Good luck!

[BarbaraR]

I'm new to the cpap world. The Tap Pap is already my second try. It is much more comfortable to wear than my Pilairo Q. My question is about the pressure. So much air escapes through the exhale holes that I can't figure out how I'm getting the pressure I need. Anyone have information about this?

[Chilibit]

I think the system measures pressure (resistance) in the output hose. If you were to block some of the exhale vents the system would reduce its output to maintain a target pressure. I don't think you need to be concerned but I am not aware of a telltale in the system that would signal an inability to maintain target pressure. As an extreme case, such as when the hose is disconnected from the machine---it will fail to maintain the target pressure. But in normal use I suspect it will.

[Pugsy]

That's normal venting and your machine will be able to maintain the correct pressure.
Nothing to worry about.
Some masks just produce more "forceful" feeling venting. The Pilairo Q is known to have a new special diffuses venting system so the vented/intentional leak coming from it is much less pronounced feeling in terms of perceived air movement.
While it feels like the Tap Pap is losing a lot of pressure through those vent holes when compared to the PilairoQ.....it isn't.
It's normal venting or otherwise called intentional leak and some makes just have a more forceful venting than others.

[BarbaraR]

Thanks for the help.
Now if I can just do something about the burning/stinging sensation I keep getting from the mask. The first night with the Tap Pap was fine, last night was miserable again. I've read that increasing the humidifier setting can help. This didn't help with my other mask. I realized the water level was low on the machine this morning. I don't know if that would effect the output.... it's still heating what is there. Any suggestions. This burning/stinging was one of the reasons I bought the Tap Pap.