There’s no doubt that walking around with a mouth that feels like a desert all the time is uncomfortable. Dry mouth is a condition that can also gravely impact your oral health. Saliva helps rinse away and tame food debris and harmful oral bacteria that can cause cavities and gum disease. A dentist in Meadowbrook can develop a custom treatment plan to optimize your oral health and revitalize your mouth. Read on to learn just how dangerous dry mouth can be.
What Causes Dry Mouth?
When your salivary glands don’t produce enough saliva to keep your mouth moist, it becomes dry. You can tell when your mouth feels sticky, your saliva becomes thick and stringy, you have bad breath, or your dentures become difficult to wear. Several factors can cause it, most of which are out of a person’s control. The only one that isn’t is tobacco, alcohol, and recreational drug use. Your glands also may not work properly if you’re:
- Taking medications that cause dry mouth as a side effect.
- An aging person.
- Going through chemotherapy, the drugs can change how much saliva your glands are able to produce.
- Suffering from health conditions like diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer’s, or autoimmune disorders.
Why is Dry Mouth Bad For Your Oral Health?
Many people don’t know that dry mouth isn’t just an uncomfortable stickiness in your mouth that makes you crave water. Your saliva is a critical tool in keeping harmful oral bacteria and food debris from collecting and drastically increasing your risk of developing oral health problems like cavities and gum disease. It even neutralizes acids found in your mouth and keeps them from destroying your enamel, which leaves your pearly whites with no protection. Here are some complications that could arise if you have dry mouth:
- Increased plaque accumulation, leading to more cavities.
- Oral sores
- Thrush, which is an oral infection caused by yeast.
- Split oral tissues and cracked lips, which can burn.
- Poor nutrition caused by having difficulty swallowing and chewing.
How Can You Treat Dry Mouth?
When you take precautionary measures at home and visit your dentist in Meadowbrook to seek treatment, you can revitalize and refresh your mouth, keeping oral health problems at bay. Not to mention, it’ll be significantly more comfortable not having to walk around with a dry mouth every day. At home, you can:
- Cut out foods like sugar, coffee, alcohol, and caffeinated drinks that cause dry mouth.
- Drink through a straw whenever possible.
- Stay hydrated with water.
When you visit your dentist, they can also suggest a few products that are specially made to tackle the effects of dry mouth, like dry mouth gel and fluoride toothpaste marketed for people who suffer from this condition. With an effective treatment plan in place, you can keep your mouth healthy and ease your discomfort, and it’s as easy as scheduling an appointment with your dentist!
About the Practice
At Meadowbrook Dentistry, we offer the knowledge and expertise of three dentists that are passionate about providing high-quality preventive care to their community. They believe in giving easy access to dental treatments to everybody, which is why we’re open late and even on Saturdays. That way people don’t have to take off work or attempt to squeeze their appointment into a small window of time. We also offer in-house discount plans for people without traditional dental insurance. For questions or to schedule an appointment, visit our website or call 516-346-5655.