Your mouth cranks out saliva throughout the day to keep your teeth and gums protected from harmful dental problems. An important role of saliva is to naturally clean the teeth to wash away lingering food and bacteria particles following a meal. The flow of saliva also keeps your mouth wet to prevent dry mouth from occurring so that you aren’t at an increased risk of plaque, bad breath and tooth decay. If you suspect you have dry mouth, we can help you recognize its presence and develop a treatment plan to protect your oral health.
Causes of dry mouth are usually lifestyle factors such as regularly taking medications that block saliva production and leave your mouth dry, smoking frequently and not drinking enough water. Symptoms of dry mouth that notify you to seek treatment include the following facial and oral health conditions:
– Always feeling thirsty
– Chronically dry lips
– Sores popping up in the mouth
– A dry throat
– Struggling to swallow
– Redness on the tongue
– Bad breath throughout the day
If you are plagued by these symptoms, you are welcome to arrange to have a dental exam with the dentist, who can recommend custom treatment for dry mouth and speak with your doctor about altering a prescription that causes dry mouth. You can also try drinking more water and artificial saliva to stave off dehydration and quitting caffeine and tobacco products. Â Â
To speak with our dentist, Dr. Perichole Eilers, about treating dry mouth in Watertown, Massachusetts, we invite you to contact Watertown Family Dental at 617-923-0233 today for an appointment.