Nasal pillow mask recommendations...

I am looking for a second mask. I love my ResMed Airfit P10 but when my sinuses in my cheeks are bothering me I just can't seem to wear the P10 comfortably because the strap runs right over my sinuses. I really want to stay with a nasal pillow mask because it seems to work well for me with very minimal leaks and no claustrophobia issues. Looking online the only nasal pillow mask I am seeing that doesn't have a strap running over the cheek is the TapPap but maybe I'm overlooking something. Is anyone aware of any other masks that I should consider trying?

Tap Pap is about your only option if you want to totally eliminate pressure on your cheeks except maybe the Swift FX with the Bella Loops that go over your ears but even it has a little bit of pressure on the cheeks.
With the Tap Pap if you have never used a mouth guard of any sort then you may have some initial issues with the pressure on the teeth though. I had about a week of minor teeth soreness from the mouth guard for probably an hour or so each morning. Then it gradually faded away but I had never used any sort of mouth guard so it wasn't totally unexpected.
There's always something when it comes to masks...always a bit of a trade off it seems.

Pugsy wrote:Tap Pap is about your only option if you want to totally eliminate pressure on your cheeks except maybe the Swift FX with the Bella Loops that go over your ears but even it has a little bit of pressure on the cheeks.
With the Tap Pap if you have never used a mouth guard of any sort then you may have some initial issues with the pressure on the teeth though. I had about a week of minor teeth soreness from the mouth guard for probably an hour or so each morning. Then it gradually faded away but I had never used any sort of mouth guard so it wasn't totally unexpected.
There's always something when it comes to masks...always a bit of a trade off it seems.

Thank you Pugsy!!! I appreciate you commenting on this since I know you have tried LOTS of masks. I have used a mouth guard in the past so I'm aware of the teeth soreness that comes along with that.

I'm really bummed that the P10 doesn't work 100% of the time. It's great as long as my sinuses aren't bothering me so I intend to continue to use it when I can...unless I fall in love with the Tap Pap and it becomes my new favorite!

If your DME doesn't carry the Tap Pap and you have to buy it online then you know it does come with free return insurance from cpap.com. Mine didn't and wouldn't order it for me. Still won't. I gave up trying.

It's a real toss up for me as to wish I prefer right now. From a sheer laziness standpoint...the P10 because it takes only a millisecond to get it on. I do get a bit more mask strap slippage of course and leaks associated with slippage like last night woke up and the back strap was on top of my head but that is a rare happening.
The Tap Pap takes slightly more than a millisecond to put on and remove but it never moves and I have some pretty awesome leak lines with it.
Cleaning time is next to nothing with the P10....with the Tap Pap I had to at least rinse out the mouth guard and most often took a toothbrush to it.
So pros and cons with either and right now laziness wins out...next to nothing cleaning of the P10 since I maybe wash the pillows once a week.

Pugsy wrote:If your DME doesn't carry the Tap Pap and you have to buy it online then you know it does come with free return insurance from cpap.com. Mine didn't and wouldn't order it for me. Still won't. I gave up trying.

It's a real toss up for me as to wish I prefer right now. From a sheer laziness standpoint...the P10 because it takes only a millisecond to get it on. I do get a bit more mask strap slippage of course and leaks associated with slippage like last night woke up and the back strap was on top of my head but that is a rare happening.
The Tap Pap takes slightly more than a millisecond to put on and remove but it never moves and I have some pretty awesome leak lines with it.
Cleaning time is next to nothing with the P10....with the Tap Pap I had to at least rinse out the mouth guard and most often took a toothbrush to it.
So pros and cons with either and right now laziness wins out...next to nothing cleaning of the P10 since I maybe wash the pillows once a week.

I have an appointment at the DME this afternoon. We'll see if they are willing to order it for me or not. If not, I guess I'll have to scrape up the money and order it from cpap.com.

I have had some strap slippage issues with the P10 too but I have discovered that putting my hair in a pony tail on the back of my head helps keep the lower strap in place. The pony tail isn't an issue for me since I am a side sleeper anyway.

More cleaning would be necessary with the Tap Pap but that's probably to be expected with anything that lives in our mouths all night.

I use the P10 as well (my first and only mask) and have nothing but good things to say about it. I've also been considering trying the Tap-Pap just to have a little more sense of freedom. I am concerned with how it may affect my bite/teeth. I have had a lot of fillings and crowns. Could have used braces as well.

Any thoughts on this Pugsy?

I would also add that I like it when I can position my P10 so the pillows fit just a hair loose. So the pillows aren't pushing real hard into my nose. Almost as if there is a slight (2%?) leak. Gives me a more natural feel.... freedom.... like I'm almost not wearing the mask.

I wear my hair ultra short...so no ponytail for me. Not that big of an issue anyway. Funny that I would even complain about it at all since at first use I bitched about the P10 straps being too snug.

If your DME can't help you out today and money is short...send me a PM and I will go check out my stash to see what I might have to maybe cut down your cost to maybe just the mouth guard. That way you could at least try it to see if it works before plopping down a sizable chunk of change.

Pugsy wrote:I wear my hair ultra short...so no ponytail for me. Not that big of an issue anyway. Funny that I would even complain about it at all since at first use I bitched about the P10 straps being too snug.

If your DME can't help you out today and money is short...send me a PM and I will go check out my stash to see what I might have to maybe cut down your cost to maybe just the mouth guard. That way you could at least try it to see if it works before plopping down a sizable chunk of change.

Super short hair might be the answer as I really feel like the strap is actually sliding on my long hair. I seriously doubt my husband would be happy with that solution though.

Thanks Pugsy! I will keep your offer in mind. Money is tight right now so I am REALLY hoping my DME is more cooperative than yours was.

JCWarrior wrote: I've also been considering trying the Tap-Pap just to have a little more sense of freedom. I am concerned with how it may affect my bite/teeth. I have had a lot of fillings and crowns. Could have used braces as well.

Any thoughts on this Pugsy?

As long as your upper teeth, crowns, fillings, etc are nice and solid you won't have any issues.
My 4 front upper teeth (smile teeth) are all crowns. And probably at least 3 other crowns in the uppers and nothing without some sort of dental work...I don't think. So that's why they suggest that you have had a visit with the dentist in the past year to make sure everything is nice and solid.

And while it feels like the bite is altered briefly when first removing it in the AM...it isn't. I talked with my dentist about this "feeling" and he said it is common to "feel" like things are a bit off but it can't really move nice solid teeth that way just overnight. I got to the point that the "feeling" that the bite was off went away within about 5 seconds after removing the mouthguard but it took me probably 3 months to get to that point. My dentist said it wouldn't have been unusual to have it persist until noon or so anyway.

When in doubt or if you haven't seen a dentist recently...have those teeth checked for general looseness from gum disease or crowns being loose or fillings getting old and tired.
Depending on the size of your teeth...the back 2 molars may not even come into contact with the mouth guard anyway. Mine don't and I don't have large teeth at all and mouth is tiny and wisdom teeth long gone.

JCWarrior wrote:I use the P10 as well (my first and only mask) and have nothing but good things to say about it. I've also been considering trying the Tap-Pap just to have a little more sense of freedom. I am concerned with how it may affect my bite/teeth. I have had a lot of fillings and crowns. Could have used braces as well.

Any thoughts on this Pugsy?

I would also add that I like it when I can position my P10 so the pillows fit just a hair loose. So the pillows aren't pushing real hard into my nose. Almost as if there is a slight (2%?) leak. Gives me a more natural feel.... freedom.... like I'm almost not wearing the mask.

I don't have any advice on the Tap Pap as I haven't gotten it yet but I did want to say that I too like to have my mask and pillows as loose as possible. Keeping it loose has been the problem though. The pony tail helps keep the lower strap in place but I've yet to find a solution to keeping the upper strap in place in order to keep the mask loose enough. Have you found anything that works to keep it loose?