Methuen MA Dentist on Ending Dry Mouth
Many of the patients of your Methuen MA dentist have dealt with dry mouth at a certain time in their life. Whether it is in the morning as a result of sleeping with their mouth open or after a thorough work out- the impact of dry mouth on oral health can be quite severe.
In order to help patients identify issues correlated to dry mouth and help solve them, today your Methuen MA dentist has compiled some information surrounding this topic for your consideration:
Causes of Dry Mouth:
- Mouth breathing: as stated above, heavy mouth breathing is most likely to occur while sleeping or working out. This habit can severely deplete the mouth of saliva, which is essential in oral health.
- Substances: ingredients in tobacco, such as tar and nicotine, can make the salivary glands become less active after usage. Alcohol has many ingredients that can have the same reaction from these glands. Even drinks or foods with high caffeine content, such as coffee, tea or soda, can result in dry mouth after usage. This can lead to not only a dry mouth but bad breath associated with the scents and tastes of those items as well.
- Medication: many popular medications that help treat congestion, pain or high blood pressure can cause dry mouth and must be taken with plenty of water, as typically described on their warning labels.
Related Dry Mouth Conditions:
- Bleeding of the lips or tongue due to severely dry cracked skin and tissue.
- Bad Breath
- Gum disease and/or tooth decay.
- Difficulty in speaking or swallowing.
What can be done?
- Stay hydrated by drinking at least (8) 8-ounce glasses of water per day.
- Drink fewer beverages containing caffeine / use fewer tobacco or alcohol products.
- Take medications with plenty of water.
- Chew sugar-free gum after meals to stimulate saliva.
- Use a mouthwash that can include xylitol instead of mouth-drying alcohol.
- Attempt to breathe through your nose during workouts or sleep, try nasal/sinus lift strips to increase airflow.
If you have tried any and all of the above dry mouth remedies and still have not seen an improvement in your condition, schedule an appointment with your Methuen MA dentist to allow us to assess and treat you. We can be reached at (978) 683-3343.
