New User Extreme Dry Mouth

chunkyfrog wrote:Someone mentioned CVS' "house" brand as more effective than the "new, improved" Biotene.
They did mention that the taste was somewhat unpleasant, but YMMV.

How would I find this? What is it called or what is it a generic version of? I'm not exactly sure what Biotene is, but I'm interested in finding out!

ShelaghDB wrote:
But something no one ever focuses on here and for that matter, I haven't seen it on any CPAP info page, is the DAMAGE a dry mouth does to your teeth after 40.
Accepting a dry mouth is not an option in my opinion.
But yet some do.
Speak to a dentist but teeth are at their healthiest when saliva is at normal amounts. But when abnormal, germs produce too rapidly and one can end up with untreatable gingivitis.

I suffer dry mouth from taking so many meds that cause it. My rhumatologist solved the problem with a drug called Evoxac. It completely solved the problem, this drug promotes the production of saliva. You might want to ask your dr about it.

Jen

CVS is the name of a drug store in the US.

Thanks for that info. Perhaps it will help the OP but I didn't notice where she lived.
Strange, I have lived in Florida and Texas yet i don't recall ever hearing of a CVS.

Anyhow, I did a long search. It took some time but i found the original post that spoke of this other stuff PLUS in searching this forum and another i came across a few other posts on the same subject. 1 or 2 of I am not familiar with as i have not yet truly delved into this issue.
Hopefully this will help the OP

The Biotene has been reformulated and doesn't have beneficial enzymes in it any more. Ask your Pharmacist for a dry mouth rinse that has beneficial enzymes in it, I only use it at bedtime. The beneficial enzymes is what makes it work better. I use Walgreen's house brand but they may not have a Walgreen's up there or a CVS drug store for there house brand. Here's a thread on Biotene viewtopic.php?f=1&t=93223&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=Biotene

And no, we don't have either here but I am in the process of hopefully ending up with a few S9s so i will see if the same person can locate and order some for me.

I've been using Orajel Mouth Moisturizing gel for a few months and like it a lot. It's about the same price as Biotene, is relatively thick and lasts all night. In the middle of the night there always seems to be a little puddle of the gel under my tongue, so I just squeeze it out and spread it around when I happen to wake up. Good stuff. 

Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Orajel-Mouth-Mois ... B000GGKQMU

So the Oragel gel got here a couple days ago. I've used it 3 nights.

It's very thick; like toothpaste. Takes a little bit to swish it around and evenly coat my mouth. Seems to last a lot longer than the rinse and slightly longer than the spray, but for me it doesn't last all night. However, my mouth doesn't feel completely dry in the morning; just a little dry. I'm not sure I'd give it 5 stars, but it's better than the rinse and the spray.

I see JENCAT824 has mentioned this in a post she has posted since i began this one...Jencat824, I think I got this from the other forum, not sure, but funny i never saw it before, saw it tonight and now you have chimed in about it---i am going to look into this further thanks for the info

If anyone wants a more permanent solution there is a prescription drug, Evoxac (which is now available in a generic form). It increases saliva production. My rheumatologist suggested that I try it and it works quite well for me. Downside is that as a RX it has the usual long list of side effects. For me I'm already on so much stuff, I say what's one more? I was having dental caveties due to dry mouth & that stopped. I no longer wake up with a dry mouth either.

I use a chinstrap but still get some lip flutter so I lay a strip of Listerine breath strip between my moistened lips. This makes a seal that keeps the lips quiet for most of the night.

Strangely, I have been using the PadACheek mask liner and this solved my dry mouth issue. The liner comes with instruction to enlarge the area that is around your nose and mouth as needed. I did NOT enlarge the hole.. I arrange it so my nose is free but it almost covers my lips. It is working like a light chin strap. It also helps with the leaks that sometime occur at the corners of the mouth when my mouth used to hang open.

Don't know if it works that way for everyone, just my experience.
Good luck!

Xylimelts they are a breathmint type thing which worked for me

Thought this was interesting: (regarding dry mouth whether one uses Nasal Masks or Pillows)

Lastly, being a SCUBA diver, we're taught to get used to breathing through our mouth since our face mask covers the nose, I was already used to it thanks to allergies but, I've seen new divers try to panic when they can't breathe-in through their nose even though they've got a regulator in their mouth and a full tank of O2 on their back, fortunately for them, that's what open water class is for.

I suffer dry mouth from taking so many meds that cause it. My rhumatologist solved the problem with a drug called Evoxac. It completely solved the problem, this drug promotes the production of saliva. You might want to ask your dr about it.

I am not crazy about taking any sort of medication BUT if the side effects are not severe, I am going to look into it.
I never knew that i had Sleep Apnea. It was my dentist that sent me and first mentioned it last year which I gather is not common.
We could not figure out why I was suddenly having a high number of minute cavities. Not large, all very small but troublesome nonetheless and I have not ever had problems with my teeth until these cavities began to show up 2 years ago.
She put it down to the dry mouth and as it turns out, I have never been one to drink enough water either so I believe the 2 combined weren't good and now i try to drown myself in H2o so sorry to hear you have had immense problems with yours but on the other hand, glad to see someone else mention it as i don't feel enough is said about the issues being potentially related.
Ive only ever seen 2 other male forum members mention it as well.

I'm not exactly sure what Biotene is,

I hadn't paid any attention to what it was either until first mentioned to me 10 months ago and bought some.
The one I bought cost about $18 + 13% HST i believe for something not all that large...

Anyhow, its mouth wash that you are supposed to use about 5x daily and one of those times before going to bed at night.
You are supposed to swish it around a bit and no it does not taste remotely close to Listerine or the like but something milder.
In any event, the theory is whatever its made of is supposed to encourage saliva in your mouth ......

Ive tried it twice and i didn't see any change but that was before i heard of the newer stuff not being all that good any more

But as I see from some of the other posts I quoted, above, there is a gel some have had better luck with

I don't have this problem but my GF does. She likes this product found on amazon.com

http://smile.amazon.com/Toothette%C2%AE ... oisturizer

-Bill

**UPDATE**
Thanks for all the suggestions. I just had a followup visit with my sleep Dr and he agreed to order me the hybrid mask that BlackSpinner is using. Hopefully that will help to keep my mouth closed. I checked into those chin up straps, but for $15 for a one months supply, I think I will try to make my own first. The Biotene you guys are talking about sounds different from the rinse I am using, as someone said it came in a "tube", is this some kind of past or gel instead of a rinse? If the hybrid mask doesn't do the trick I will go for the ruby chin strap someone else recommended.

As far as the water, I stay very hydrated, and the one liter of water over night very rarely causes me to take a bathroom break during the night. For those of you also dealing with dry mouth that is not directly related to Cpap use, checking into iodine supplimentation. I started it about 9 months ago, and one of the benefits is it helps dry eyes and mouth. It actually had me drooling during the night, so this current dry mouth is really extreme for me.

THanks again

Cindi

I am very new to the CPAP experience, but dry mouth is something that I have had for quite some time! I have tried Biotin, and wasn't impressed, it comes in a mouth rinse and a tooth paste, but my mouth never felt fresh after using the toothpaste. Just before getting my CPAP machine, I started with something called TheraBreath http://www.therabreath.com/?AffID=6351, and it was definitely helping with the dry mouth, it too comes in a toothpaste and a mouth rinse, but I only used the mouth rinse. Since I started with my CPAP, I have had less dry mouth issues, as the humidity has helped. I hope the TheraBreath can help others!

I just got my new mask, a resmed airfit f10 along with a chin strap after complaining to my RT about the dry mouth and leaking problems I was having. I have only tried the strap 1 night, last night, but this morning I woke up with not much dry mouth, which is a huge improvement because I used to get woken up because of my dry mouth; this morning I was woken up only by my alarm.

Though I feel kind of silly using a chin strap with a full face mask... but if it helps with the dry mouth, which I am sure is bad for my gums and teath, I'll keep wearing it.

FWIW (and, of course, YMMV), I credit my Hybrid mask (by Respcare, the same one Blackspinner uses) in training me to keep my mouth closed while I'm asleep. It's all about the chincup, in my case. (Wow, I just now realized that I've been using the Hybrid for almost five years. After two years of trying different masks, the Hybrid became that elusive "right one" for me. In fact, when my new pulmonologist/sleep doc suggested that I might consider a pillows mask with a chinstrap, instead, I balked.) Maybe I'll think about a different mask someday. But for now, I'm very happy with my current setup and have no desire to switch it up. (If it ain't broke, and all that. ) Good luck with it!

Also FWIW, when I *did* use a chinstrap with a pillows mask (years ago), I found that the "Premium" chinstrap from Respironics was the most stable one I tried.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CVS_Pharmacy
FYI.