ANTIAGING TREATMENTS: DENTAL
Dry Mouth
Causes of Dry Mouth
A number of conditions and drugs tend to cause chronic
dry mouth. They include:
- Tthe normal aging process
- Sjorgren's syndrome
- Prescription and non prescription drugs such as
antihistamines and decongestants, psychiatric drugs
including Lithium and thorazine and sleeping pills.
Plaque
Plaque is composed of a range of species of bacteria
dependent on the exact chemical and physical composition
of the saliva in the mouth. Dry mouth causes a drastic
change in the composition of the plaque reducing the
populations of some species and increasing the populations
of others. This change in composition tends to cause
an overgrowth of organisms which produce acidic waste
products that lead to tooth decay.
Dry Mouth Syndrome
To overcome dry mouth, many people resort to sipping
sweet drinks and sucking on hard candy all day. The
combination of dry mouth and excessive sugar causing
rampant decay is called "dry mouth syndrome"
A simple remedy to dry mouth syndrome is hard candy
and chewing gum containing sugar substitute xylitol
; which can actually inhibit tooth decay.
In spite of recent controversy, other artificial sweetners,
whilst they do not prevent tooth decay, do not contribute
to it.
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