Dry Mouth Can Be a Sign of Something Serious

Posted by chrisduffy0728 to Dental, Feb 15, 2012 9:27am

Dr. Cindy Roak, Chief Clinical Director with Coast Dental & SmileCare, www.coastdental.com and www.smilecare.com would like to talk about how dry mouth ( Xerostomia) can be the sign of something serious and should be evaluated. She can be seen on eHow.com talking about this very topic. I've pasted in a link to the video as well as a transcript of her brief presentation.
If you would like to schedule her on the show, please call (***) ***-****or email ************************ Thanks
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Today I'm going to talk about how to get rid of cotton or dry mouth, a condition that doctors refer to as Xerostomia. You may think of it as something that's just bothersome and you may not realize that it actually can have harmful effects because saliva helps protect your teeth and gums by removing bacteria that can cause cavities and periodontal disease and the lack of saliva can make it difficult to chew, swallow food or even speak. Dry mouth can have several causes. Many medications even over-the-counter medications can cause it and sometimes a simple change in dosage can help the problem. Chemotherapy can also cause dry mouth. So can smoking and drinking alcohol. You may not know that drinking caffeinated beverages can also have a dehydrating effect. Before attempting to treat chronic dry mouth yourself, be sure that you see a doctor for a complete checkup. It could be a symptom of a medical condition such as diabetes that needs attention. The good news is that there are several ways you can deal with dry mouth. Your doctor may prescribe a medication to help you increase saliva if your condition warrants it. He or she might recommend you chew sugar free gum or increase your consumption of celery, apples, carrots or citrus fruits. All of these increase the production of saliva. Also, be sure to sip on water throughout the day to replace the missing fluid.
http://www.ehow.com/video_12220898_not-cotton-mouth.html