Hurting Gums - Gum Shield ???????

Hi - anyone here had problems with their gums hurting from the cpap mask resting / pressing against their gums all night long - I am in my 4 week of cpap and LOVE IT but I was wondering if anyone wore gum shields to bed to overcome the problem I just describe of sore gums in the morning from the cpap mask resting / pressing against their gums all night long.

The mask description I use is below

Mirage™ FX Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear

Cheers Peter

p.s. This is the only problem I have with Cpap therapy - otherwise I LOVE IT and how good it makes me feel.

Could be the mask is overtightened, also a FF mask could be used, it would change where the mask set. Jim

Goofproof wrote:Could be the mask is overtightened, also a FF mask could be used, it would change where the mask set. Jim

Hi Jim - Problem is if I loosen the mask straps to the point where their is no pressure on my gums I get leaks everywhere - FF mask I tried but hated the feeling of breathing against the air pressure all the time which is set at 12.

Cheers Peter

p.s. Just wanted to know out of the 50.000 people / members here if some one as used a gum shield to over come this problem.

Problem is - gums hurting from the cpap mask resting / pressing against my gums all night long once I take the mask off in the morning by mid day my gums have stopped hurting.

p.s. The pain is not really that bad BUT it is there never the less.

then try a different style of mask... if a mask has to be that tight not to leak, then it isn't fitting properly.

I use a mouth guard on my upper teeth, but its because I clench.....and break teeth . It is a youth size, clear plastic, boil and bite used for playing sports.......only $5.00. It might be cheap enough for you to give it a try....or you could use a different mask.

I have noticed that the pressure on my gums is less if I lower my chin a bit. When I raise my chin, that changes the way the top of the mask (forehead) sits. That changes the pressure on the bottom. Once I figured that out, I told myself that I learned to sleep with my mouth closed & tongue in the right posision, so I'm sure I can learn to tuck my chin at night. Been doing this for about a week and it seems to be working.

Good luck, and let us know when you find something that works for you. Who knows, there might be someone else on here that could use your experience to help them.

DyingOnMyFeet wrote:Hi Jim - Problem is if I loosen the mask straps to the point where their is no pressure on my gums I get leaks everywhere - FF mask I tried but hated the feeling of breathing against the air pressure all the time which is set at 12.

What you say is a RED flag.. You do well at 12 CM with a nasal mask, but you can't don't like breathing against the SAME 12 cm pressure with a ff mask.

That would lead me to believe that you are mouthbreathing with the nasal mask, if so you are loosing your treatment before it begins. A ff mask should move the mask pressure from the gums. Maybe a dentist could provide advice on how to toughten up your gums, you shouldn't have gum pain that easily. Jim

You really need a machine that monitors with full data and the software to read whats really going on, then you can better see if your XPAP treatment is working for you.

nanwilson wrote:I use a mouth guard on my upper teeth, but its because I clench.....and break teeth . It is a youth size, clear plastic, boil and bite used for playing sports.......only $5.00. It might be cheap enough for you to give it a try....or you could use a different mask.

I second both comments from Nan and jim.. I also use a bruxism guard on the upper teety, and it leaves my upper teeth a bit sore due tightness. A boil-n-bite might help you.
Your comment about the pressure bothering you also caught my attention, but I think Jim hit that well. You might look into one of the many varieties of chin straps.. consensus seams to favor wide ones. My only experience was with a basic narrow strap that did nothing but slip off. Please do address the mouthbreating diagnosis.
Finally, if you'll follow the last link in my signature, it'll show you the tricks to putting your equipment into your profile. That will help folks making more specific sugggestions.

Thanks for all the help from everyone here - As regards to mouth breathing and losing therapy I tape my mouth completey shut at night and have had 2 data reading at the sleep clinic 14 days apart showing no loss of pressure and no apnea episodes.

I will try a boil and bite in the near future however LAST NIGHT was much better on my teeth as I lossened the straps to give me a reading of good to very good mask fit instead of tight which reads excellent fit.

My cpap machine is a S8 Autoset spirit

Once again thanks for all the help - Cheers Peter

p.s. My cpap machine is not listed on the profile list of cpap machines that is why I don't have it listed on my forum posts.