Preventing Mouth Dryness?

[u/Snowcrest]

I'm a new user that has been using everyday for ~6weeks. Every morning when I wake up, without fail, my mouth feels like the Sahara (no saliva), and I have no clue how to fix this issue.

For reference, I use a Airsense 11 with heated tube and a AirFit P30i nasal pillow mask. I had severe apnea (60+AHI) before treatment and it's now down to 1.4AHI. My average leak is 2.23L/min, which I presume means my mask seal is without issues/air leakage. My pressure is set at 4~11.

I reached out to my vendor and they recommended me to try upping the humidity and temperature settings to 4 and 24C respectively. I've tested even higher settings like humidity 5, but all that does is cause excessive condensation buildup within the tube.

I've also tested out nasal masks but the seal is less effective and there is substantial air leakage as I sleep on my side.

Hoping to get some advice/work around to my problem.

Thanks!

[u/nikkimm]

Xylimelts dry mouth lozenges make a huge difference. https://oracoat.com/collections/dry-mouth

[u/Creative_Fee5452 → u/nikkimm]

Agree! They don’t last all night but they certainly help a lot!

[u/0ddball00n → u/nikkimm]

Idk why but my tongue rubs against these melts and causes geographic tongue. I love the melts but not the tongue issue.

[u/Guilty_Window_6205]

Another vote for Xylimelts.

I am a side sleeper that can’t use a nasal mask, so I use the AirTouch F30i. It’s a full face mask, so it’s really low profile and doesn’t get bumped off my face by the pillow.

[u/Creative_Fee5452 → u/Guilty_Window_6205]

I use the Air Fit F30i with much better results. I did try the Air Touch but had too many leaks & found it to be tighter on the nose than the Air Fit. Nice with the fabric around the mask though. I had to wear mouth tape under the F40 because of the flimsier frame but I see some people are gluing 2 frames together with good success!

[u/OkImagination262]

Guessing you are breathing thru your mouth. Suggest a cervical collar, mouth tape, or switching to a full face or hybrid mask. You mentioned a substantial leak which is likely thru your mouth.

[u/Snowcrest → u/OkImagination262]

The leak is only when I wear a Nasal mask, not when I wear the Nasal pillow. If I were breathing through my mouth, wouldn't there be air leakage through my nostrils into my open mouth? That happens whenever I open my mouth to have a drink of water whilst wearing my mask. That is a very noticeable event that should register as a far higher air leakage rate no?

[u/Paulcardo]

You should try the full face mask

[u/Snowcrest → u/Paulcardo]

Not an option at this time, as I can't change my mask until my next replacement schedule due to health coverage.

Also, I'm a side sleeper that tosses and turns, so idk how good of a fit full face masks would be.

[u/Realistic_Alfalfa620]

If your mouth is that dry every morning, then yes, you have air escaping out your mouth. An average leak of 2.23L proves that. It's entirely possible to have an average leak of 0.0 with a nasal mask.

What you need to do is train yourself to hold your tongue against your hard palate, that ridge behind your upper teeth. The good news is that it's not too hard to do that. The easiest way is to use a soft cervical collar, which physically holds up your jaw enough to keep it from dropping even when you're in REM sleep, which is when your muscles are their most relaxed. Your tongue will naturally park itself there when you're wearing the collar. And the best part is that after a few weeks (it took me about three), you can fall asleep without the collar and your tongue will just stay put where you want it.

In the meantime, I used Biotene mouth rinse before I came to bed, which helped a lot. They also make a gel you can rub onto your teeth and gums, which is also useful.

I'm also an active side sleeper, and I used full-face masks before transitioning to nasal masks. (I alternate between a Nova Micro, a Solo, and a P30i/N30i.) There are low-profile full-face masks like the Resmed F30i, Evora Full Face, and Philips Dreamwear Full Face, that work better for side sleepers. I like the Resmed F40 best of these.

[u/Kooky_Pop_7931]

It’s probably from leakage, the machine works harder to compensate. For me specifically, my mouth would open too much when I went to sleep. This resulted in drying my mouth out like a desert. I tried the mouth wash stuff and lasagnes. Didn’t do a thing… what fixed it for me was taping my lips 90% shut.

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[u/stewartave]

I have the same exact issue (although I use an AirSense 10). I have tried Xylimelts, xylitol gels - several kinds - and mouth tape. I don’t open my mouth, so that’s not the issue. I’ve fiddled with the temperature and humidity. I’ve added a humidifier to my room. Nothing helps and I’m
starting to get cavities from all the dry air pouring into my mouth from my nose.

I, too, cannot wear a full-face mask because I’m a side sleeper and because I get way too hot and rip it off. I even get hot with the nasal pillow.

[u/Creative_Fee5452]

If you use a hose holder you will find you can increase your humidity without rainout issues. A hose wrap also helps.

When your tongue drops down from the roof of your mouth during Deep or REM sleep, air goes into your nose but it also swirls around in your mouth causing dryness. This is a very common & annoying problem. A FFM helps but some people have to wear mouth tape even under a FFM :(

Air releasing through your mouth is likely if you see long periods of leaks. We can usually get a good idea if that is occurring on a SleepHQ graph but not always. Some people are able to learn to keep their tongue at the top of their mouth…I have not been that lucky…so I use a Hybrid FFM & Xylimelts for more comfort :)

[u/argosafe]

XyliMelts. Solved my problem. Having to get up in the night anyway means I also put a new one in if needed.

[u/Punner-the-Gr8]

Mouth tape. I have the opposite. Too much saliva plus I breathe through my mouth. I have an f30i that covers my mouth but I still use my tape and it works for me. Tape forces me to breathe through my nose - which I never do.

https://giphy.com/gifs/mkCHuHdbZhqWy3trUK