The Dangers of Dry Mouth

At first, dry mouth may seem a little annoying to those who deal with it. Over time, it becomes a bigger and bigger deal. It’s important to know how to avoid dry mouth, how to cope with it if you have it, and what the dangers are.

Dry Mouth Causes Tooth Decay

Dry mouth is a lousy condition to have when it comes to your teeth.  Without saliva washing over your teeth and gums, you are in danger of dental diseases.  The most obvious is cavities from the build-up of plaque. The problem goes deeper, leaving the teeth roots to rot more quickly. This leads to root canals and tooth caps.

Gum disease is more prevalent whenever oral health is compromised.  If you aren’t familiar with what this illness can do, you need to know that gum disease is a major reason people lose some or all of their teeth. You don’t want that to happen! If you have lost teeth, the best way to protect your bone health is to get dental implants.

Protecting Your Oral Health

To combat poor oral health, you should drink lots of water and wash or brush your teeth more often. You should avoid things that make the situation worse, such as sweets.  Most of all, you should see the dentist regularly to get help with dental problems caused by dry mouth.

There are mouthwashes and lozenges that may help with the situation. You should get recommendations from your dentist and doctor.

Recognizing Dry Mouth as the Symptom of a Disease

Dry mouth can be caused by medicine or a combination of medicines. That’s why it’s essential to discuss the problem with professionals such as your doctor, dentist and pharmacist.  There may be a way to prevent the problem and save you a lot of hassle.

There are diseases that can cause dry mouth. Diabetes is one of the worst. If you haven’t been checked, you should definitely do so.  If nothing else, you’ll know your dry mouth isn’t linked to this dangerous disease. Or, if it is, you and your doctor can combat diabetes, helping improve your dry mouth situation.

Schoegren’s disease and other autoimmune disorders can also cause dry mouth. Getting a diagnosis is step one. Step two is treatment for a chronic illness could help reduce your dry mouth symptoms. While chronic illnesses cannot be cured, many can be successfully managed. This may help more than your dry mouth. There may be many other symptoms you don’t realize are related to one another.

Other Dry Mouth Dangers

Beyond your oral health, dry mouth poses other dangers.  It can leave your mouth ripe for a fungal infection.  It may be so bad that it causes difficulty swallowing.  For those who have chronic constipation, the lack of saliva contributes to the condition by depriving the stomach and intestines of that extra, naturally occurring water.

Drinking alcohol contributes to and/or causes dry mouth. This demonstrates why dry mouth sufferers should not drink alcoholic beverages. It also implies that alcoholics are more likely to have this condition.  While this can be hard to hear, finding help to stop drinking is one thing some dry mouth sufferers must do.

If you suffer from dry mouth, you need to check with your doctor, your dentist and your pharmacist to get answers. There’s no need to suffer in silence, especially when speaking up may help you find solutions.