How can I stop mouth breathing while I sleep? [closed]

Question

I've been diagnosed with sleep apnea and am currently treating it with an apap. When I was fitted for the apap (and associated masks), the provider told me that if I start drooling I should call them and ask for a chin strap. Drooling is a sign that I am breathing through my mouth, and since the apap mask only covers my nose I shouldn't be doing that.

After about a year with the apap, I finally gave in to my dentist's urging that I wear a mouthguard to sleep because I'm grinding my teeth (and broke a crown). Now with the mouthguard, I started drooling in my sleep.

I dutifully called the medical equipment provider and asked for a chin strap like I was instructed. However, the chin strap interferes with the fitting of my mask so I keep waking up at night with air blowing in my face. I don't like it and I haven't been using it.

Is there another solution for mouth breathing besides a chin strap?

Answer 1

Yes, you can get a full face mask and then it wont matter if you are breathing through your mouth or not. I would contact your medical equipment provider again and see what they have in options for full face masks. Personally I use Quattro full face mask and have no issues with it.

You can look here for an idea of what masks are out there to chose from.

You can also check here for more information and a group that will be able to answer questions about a wide variety of masks and they might have a solution to help you with your current problem without having to switch mask styles.