If you struggle with mouth breathing or dry mouth while using continuous positive airway pressure cpap therapy for sleep apnea keep in mind that there are several things you can do that will help.
Cpap nose pillows mouth breathing.
Although mouth breathing is a common characteristic among those with sleep apnea many will find that sufficient airflow delivered via cpap can open the nose up.
A full face mask style device that covers your mouth and nose also may work well for you.
This may require some accommodations.
Discover how to avoid mouth breathing by opening the nose using a chinstrap and adjusting device settings.
Conversely with the mouth closed the air delivered from cpap isn t rerouted but travels through the respiratory airway.
When the mouth opens the jaw becomes free to move and it may shift the tongue back into the throat especially when sleeping on the back.
To help reduce mask leak remember to do your final fit and adjustment while laying in bed in your normal sleeping position.
A chin strap may help keep your mouth closed and reduce the air leak if you wear a nasal mask.
If you breathe through your mouth at night or sleep with your mouth open some cpap devices may worsen dry mouth.
A mouth breather on cpap has 2 choices a full face mask or a traditional nasal mask nasal pillow mask with the addition of a chin strap.
These air leaks often awaken users causing sleep fragmentation.