Dry mouth
When our body fails to produce enough saliva, it results in us getting a dry and uncomfortable mouth that’s commonly known as dry mouth. Dry mouth or xerostomia as it’s otherwise known, is more common in people of an older generation and has been shown to affect around one in five elderly people. Your saliva not only moistens but also helps to cleanse your mouth along with processing food and preventing infection from bacteria and fungi. It might surprise you to know that saliva is actually quite an impressive liquid.
You’re no doubt aware that saliva is clear but did you know that several different glands in your mouth make it? It’s an important part of any healthy body and just like our bodies, is made mostly of water. Alongside water, your saliva contains a number of important substances that your body needs in order to fully digest your food and keep your teeth strong and healthy. Saliva is hugely important
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• Side effects from a medical condition or infection for example, Sjögren’s syndrome.
• Side effect of medical treatment due to damage to the salivary gland. A good example of this would be the inability to produce saliva after undergoing radiation to the head and neck along with chemotherapy rounds for cancer.
• Nerve damage if experienced within the head and the neck from an injury or a surgery.
• Dehydration from a fever, excessive sweating, blood loss or even diarrhea can all cause dry mouth.
• Your lifestyle is a big contributing factor as smoking or chewing tobacco can affect your ability to produce saliva as well as aggravate your dry mouth further as can continually breathing with an open mouth.
• Surgical removal of the salivary glands.
Dry mouth will usually be accompanied by a series of common symptoms including:
• A sticky, dry feeling in your
People develop dry mouth problems for several reasons. One of the most common is dry mouth as a side effect of medication. Numerous drugs deplete saliva production. A person may develop this problem if he or she takes:
Risk factors include muscle tension, jaw wound or trauma, arthritis, bruxism (grinding of the teeth) and poor
The RTOG/EORTC late xerostomia grade was determined during follow-up visits at the clinic by 3 physicians at each visit. Each of the observers assigned the score independently and was blinded to the scores given by the others. The scores ranged from 0 to 3 (0 none; 1 slight dryness of the mouth, good response on stimulation; 2 moderate dryness, poor response on stimulation; and 3 _ complete dryness, no response on stimulation). The observers were instructed to determine the scores based on an assessment of the patients’ oral mucosa moistness and based on asking patients how dry they were, how often they had to sip liquids, whether they needed salivary stimulation by any means (such as chewing gum), and whether stimulation helped. A mean RTOG/EORTC
One of the most common oral health ailments in seniors is dry mouth. The problem is so widespread that many seniors
It is important to begin tackling your dry mouth problem as soon as it occurs, as having less saliva in your mouth cannot only lead to you getting more cavities and make the two following more severe oral problems more likely to occur.
The hypoglossal nerve may be impacted by numerous things, such as, neck injuries strokes, infections, or tumors at the base of the skull. Any of these can lead to a problematic issue with speaking, chewing, or swallowing. Mrs. Smith experienced these symptoms such as, inability to operate the tongue during chewing and swallowing, as well as struggle in her speech. The hypoglossal nerve is examined by asking the patient to stick out their tongue. Other movements such as asking the patient to push their tongue alongside their cheek and feeling for the pressure on the opposite side of the cheek may also be used if damage is suspected (McKinley, O'Lougihlin, & Bidle, 2015, pg. 532). Ms. Smith also experienced these symptoms her left side of her
Dental insurance coverage is a key determinant on whether to seek care or not. The exclusion of our mouths from the rest of our body parts and not receiving the care it requires is quite impossible to rationalize (McClymont, 2015). Dental care is essential in the maintenance of good oral health and in the identification of symptoms of systemic conditions that most likely are manifested through the mouth. As striking and conspicuous as it may sound, Canada has indeed a type of health care system wherein mouth is excepted as a part of the body. As a matter of fact, our lips, tongues, and throats are securely covered while our teeth and gums are left out from the privilege. The most common infectious disease in the world are dental diseases, and the fact that many health issues can be first diagnosed through the oral cavity validates its importance and co-relevance to the rest of our body. Studies have linked poor oral health such as severity of gum infection to AIDS, first stages of osteoporosis, reveal nutritional deficiencies, immune disorders, cancer, and so on and so forth. Xerostomia or dry mouth for an instance is often a symptom of undetected diabetes. Diabetic patients have higher risks of gum infection caused by increased blood sugar, thickening of blood vessels resulting to hindered healing process that is why they are obligated to undergo pre-medication as a form
The purpose of this paper is to assess Patient X’s oral health and systemic health to determine how both affect the oral cavity. Patient X has a limited medical history, however, the patient does use tobacco products and consumes alcohol. It is important to identify the link between tobacco use and alcohol consumption to systemic diseases and oral health effects. Patient X also exhibits prehypertension and seasonal allergies. The medications for seasonal allergies can potentially increase the chance of xerostomia. Hypertension is important to identify in order to discuss the risk factors and the importance of seeing a physician. The dental hygienist will gather all of this information in order to properly develop a treatment plan for patient
The more dehydrated you are, the worse your breath is as your mouth needs saliva to stay fresh and free from bad smells. Make sure you are drinking the recommended amount of water for your body size and an additional bonus, keeping your mouth moist and wet will help flush any left behind food particles, which is what bad bacteria thrive on.
In 2003, my mother was diagnosed with inoperable cervical cancer and had to complete chemotherapy and radiation treatments to eliminate the disease. She is a survivor because of her strong will but has suffered from multiple, long-lasting side effects from the treatment. The medications did the job of ridding her body of cancer but caused issues to other organs in her body. These issues require her to take multiple medications that now give her dry mouth. My mother has tried multiple over the counter remedies for dry mouth, but nothing seems to help. She wants to know if the xerostomia, dry mouth, is causing the increased number of cavities that are ruining her smile. I am at the point in my life that I have more resources to help her and as a dental hygienist I hope to provide her the help she needs to improve her smile by solving her problem with
Reduced saliva can bring discomfort and may contribute to a much slower initial digestion process. Having reduce saliva could may your mouth quite dry. Dry mouth can cause swelling and may be uncomfortable. In addition, germs thrive in this type of environment, which typically presents with bad breath. Also, in terms of initial stages of digestion, saliva helps begin the chemical breakdown of carbohydrates in the mouth, with reduced saliva this process may take longer and may not be as
more than just having clean teeth. To have good oral health means to be “free of
As the Elizabethtown, KY family dentist at Mulberry Street well knows, a wide range of factors can cause this condition to appear. Dry mouth can be a side effect of medications used to treat illnesses as diverse as anxiety and allergies. A parched mouth can also be the result of more serious medical conditions, such as diabetes, HIV,
Even though dryness of the lips can appear due to body temperature changes, it can also be a sign of fungal
Although the testing of salivary biomarkers has yet to take hold in clinical settings, the research surrounding this science is promising. Ideally, in the future, patients will be able to submit saliva samples to their doctor or dentist to be tested for a variety of conditions which can be detected based on particular proteins or enzymes, et cetera. The hope is that these tests could lead to early disease detection and treatment. In this report, you will find the ways in which saliva can be gathered, as well as the known biomarkers for specific diseases, and the shortcomings and hopes for research in this field.