Dry mouth causes tooth decay
Doctors have discovered that dry mouth can cost you your teeth!
And the culprits are often the same medicines you need to combat depression, anxiety and high blood pressure. Users of psychiatric drugs like Prozac and Paxil, blood-pressure medications Lopressor and Vasotec, or the 500 plus other drugs that list dry mouth as a possible side effect, can have 10 times the bacteria in their mouths as normal says Dr. Athena Pappas, professor at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.
That’s because saliva has antibacterial properties that help stave off gum disease and fungal infections. Researchers of dry mouth, or xerostomia, say the biggest problem is that many doctors and dentists are ignorant of the drugs, dry mouth, decay connection.
Illinois-based dentist Dr. Susan Sup-Barnes recalls a patient whose healthy mouth suddenly needed several cavities filled and root canal just six months after he started on high-blood-pressure medicine.
Worse off was 66-year old Cynthia Gallagher of Jamestown, N.Y. After some years of taking an antidepressant along with two blood-pressure drugs, she’s lost half her teeth. Unaware of the danger, patients may ignore dry mouth, or worse, suck on candy to get their juices flowing.
“That exposes teeth to sugar and makes bacteria grow even more,” says Pappas.
Water, ice chips or sugarless gum can help, as can sour or bitter foods, which stimulates saliva. There are also over-the-counter and prescription saliva substitutes. But your best bet may be to see your dentist more often.
Sims Dental Clinic
115 West Walnut
Tecumseh, OK 74873
405-598-6518
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