Is Your Mouth A Little Dry?

Our bodies are composed mostly water, yet that nutrient is not listed on the recommended foods chart published by the US Government.
Coffee shops and soda companies do an excellent job of promoting their products. They call their beverages refreshing and claim that they quench your thirst yet, in truth, these drinks cause your body to lose precious water because of their diuretic effect. Have you noticed that after drinking coffee you need to go to the bathroom more frequently than usual? Thats the diuretic effect.
Moisture loss and dehydration have a devastating effect on the body. Your body uses water to dispose of toxins as well as to keep your body flexible, lubricated and running smoothly. Some symptoms of dehydration are thirst, dry mouth, dry skin, fatigue, weakness, flushed skin, dark urine, muscle cramps, headache, nausea and can progress to muscle spasms, vomiting, seizures and unconsciousness. Staying hydrated is especially important in hotter areas like where my office is located, in Palm Harbor Florida.
What else can cause a dry mouth? Millions of people are taking numerous medications these days. Many of the medications that they take are for the purpose of counteracting the side-effects of their other medications. A common side-effect of heart medications and other types of medications, is dry mouth.
Most medical doctors consider dry mouth as merely an inconvenience and do not think much of it. However, dry mouth is a major cause of dental disease.
How could dry mouth case so much devastation? Bacteria form a sticky substance called plaque by which they attach themselves to the teeth. They sit on the tooth and form an acid which pulls the calcium out of the tooth thereby dissolving the tooth and forming a hole which may or may not be visible to the unaided eye. As the process continues, the infection gets deeper and eventually kills the nerves and blood vessels, which keep the tooth alive and healthy.
The natural flow of saliva helps to neutralize the acids formed by these bacteria and also helps to prevent the plaque from sticking to the teeth. When a person suffers from decreased salivary flow, or dry mouth, the bacteria can attach more easily to the tooth structures and the acids, undiluted, can cause cavities to form more rapidly and advance more quickly. The worst damage is usually seen around the gumlines and around the edges of crowns and existing fillings.
A person can get an exam with a clean bill of health, start suffering from dry mouth, and six months later find themselves with large cavities that are threatening the life of the tooth.
To protect yourself from this damage Make sure you drink at least ten cups of water a day. Switch from coffee or soda to water as your beverage of choice. If you cant give up your caffeine, drink two cups of water for every cup of caffeinated beverage you consume in addition to the ten cups per day of water. Talk to your prescribing physician about finding alternate ways of controlling your medical condition if the medication prescribed has dry mouth listed as a side effect.
Use moisturizing sprays and lozenges that contain "xylitol" sweetener. Xylitol lubricates the teeth and interferes with the bacteria sticking. Look for "xylitol" in all the sugar-free gums, cough drops and other products that spend some time sitting in your mouth.
Get dental exams at least twice a year to stay ahead of the problem.


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