Suffering from Dry mouth?
Dental Health • October 2, 2017
Dry mouth, or xerostomia (zeer-o-STOE-me-uh), refers to a condition in which the salivary glands in your mouth don’t make enough saliva to keep your mouth wet. Dry mouth is often due to the side effect of certain medications or ageing issues or as a result of radiation therapy for cancer. Less often, dry mouth may be caused by a condition that directly affects the salivary glands.
Dry mouth can cause many oral health problems, these include:
Decay/rotten teeth.
Mouth sores and ulcers.
Dry and cracked lips.
Bad breath/halitosis.
Sore tongue or throat.
- Difficulty in speaking or swallowing.
Dry mouth can also affect the way your Dentures or false teeth fit. Without saliva, your dentures do not fit properly and can lead to oral thrush under the denture or pain from the denture.
What can cause Dry mouth?
Many medications can lead to Dry mouth. It can be brought on by chronic or prescription medication and even over the counter medication for allergies or colds.
Radiation to the head and neck area can also affect the amount of saliva one produces. This is due to damage to the salivary glands because of the treatment used to treat head and neck cancer.
Certain diseases can also lead to decrease salivary production. Diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s and Dementia can also lead to dry mouth. Patients suffering from depression and anxiety also experience dry mouth.
Smoking, drinking alcohol and beverages containing caffeine can cause ones mouth to stay dry.
Snoring and sleeping with an open mouth will dry out ones mouth and affect the amount of saliva produced.
How can one prevent dry mouth?
One can do many things to treat dry mouth.
Sipping on small amounts of water during the day. This allows the mouth to stay wet.
Sucking on ice chips.
- Lining the mouth with a teaspoon of coconut oil frequently during the day.
- Chewing on sugar free Chewing gum or candy, to stimulate saliva production.
- Using a humidifier at night to moisten the air.
How can you keep your mouth healthy?
Decrease salivary production can lead to increase tooth decay/rotten teeth. This can be prevented by following a good oral hygiene regime. Brushing twice a day with a tooth paste containing fluoride, flossing once a day and using a fluoridated mouth rinse can help prevent teeth from developing new cavities or holes.
Visiting your dentist every 6 months can allow the dentist to check for tooth Decay and fix these holes before they become to serious. The dentist can also clean your teeth and apply a fluoride varnish or gel.
Your Dentist can also recommend dental products that can help increase your salivary flow and assess the chronic medication your are on.
Denture wearing patients can be screened for mouth ulcers or fungal infections and can be treated.
Conclusion
Dry mouth can lead to many dental problems. Consulting your dentist can help prevent these from happening.