What is dry mouth (xerostomia) ?
Dry Mouth or Xerostomia is a common condition where the salivary glands do not produce enough saliva. Sufficient saliva is important because it plays a key role in your oral health.
It is essential to digest food, is critical to help prevent cavities and gingivitis by washing away harmful bacteria, helps to maintain a healthy pH level in the mouth and helps to re-mineralize tooth enamel.
Most everyone has experienced the occasional dry mouth feeling. Studies have demonstrated that 70 million suffer from dry mouth in the US. It is more common in women than men, increases with age and the number of medications taken. But as the frequency of dry mouth increases so do the chances of developing significant dental health problems such as tooth decay, gingivitis or oral infections.
Causes of Dry Mouth
Dry mouth can be the result of any of the following conditions or treatments.
Prescription or Over-the-Counter Medications
Over 1,800 medications are known to cause dry mouth including medications to treat the following symptoms or conditions:
- ADD/ADHD
- Depression
- Prostate (BPH)
- Allergies
- Diabetes
- Urinary Incontinence
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Epilepsy
- Ulcers
- Anxiety
- High Blood Pressure
- Asthma
- Arthritis
- Pain
- Osteoporosis
Conditions or Illnesses
Sjögren’s syndrome and Lupus are known to cause dry mouth.
Cancer Treatments
Dry mouth is a common side effect of radiation treatment for cancer of the head or neck. Medications to treat cancer in other parts of the body may also cause dry mouth.
Nerve Damage
In some instances nerve damage to the head or neck may damage the nerves that control the function of the salivary glands.
Lifestyle Choices
Alcohol, smoking as well as recreational drug use has been shown to cause dry mouth.
Dry Mouth Treatment
To temporarily ease the symptoms of dry mouth various strategies have been used. Most of them, like chewing gum or sipping water, are only short term solutions and do not address the complications, like bacteria build up or bad breath which may arise from dry mouth.
For long-lasting dry mouth relief and dental protection try Salese. Salese has been shown to ease the discomfort associated with dry mouth, to balance oral pH, to provide bacteria fighting ingredients while also giving long-lasting fresh breath.
In any case, if you are suffering from chronic or occasional dry mouth be extra vigilant about your oral care routine. Brush your teeth at least twice daily and floss once a day. Insufficient saliva means bacteria in your mouth and on the teeth are not being washed away. This results in oral health problems such as cavities (bacteria producing acids to dissolve minerals on the teeth), gingivitis (inflamed and bleeding gums), periodontitis (inflamed, bleeding and gum loss resulting in loss of teeth. Salese offers long lasting relief from dry mouth with an ingredient to give the moist mouth feel. In addition, Salese has ingredients to promote oral hygiene by reducing bacteria, neutralizing cavity causing acids, remineralize teeth and capture volatile sulfur compounds causing bad breath.