Reducing the Effects of Dry Mouth

Dry mouth, or xerostomia, can be caused by many things, including drugs, bad habits and medical conditions. If your doctor knows what exactly is causing your mouth to be dry, he or she may modify the drugs that you are taking, or prescribe you new drugs that stimulate the production of saliva in your mouth.

There are other tips to use at home to help you decrease the sensation or oral dryness:

• If you are a smoker, do not smoke.
• Drink lots of water.
• Avoid eating spicy, salty or very acidic foods.
• Decrease drinking alcoholic beverages, as alcohol tends to dry your mouth even more.
• Avoid caffeine-containing drinks and foods, as caffeine also dries your mouth more.
• Chew your food slowly and thoroughly, and sip water with it before swallowing.
• You may have salivary substitutes or a mouth-gel to lubricate the inside of your mouth and make it feel less dry.

Complete article: How Can You Reduce the Effects of Dry Mouth?
Source: Dry Mouth
In French: Réduire les effets de la bouche sèche

How to Treat Tooth Abscess?

A tooth abscess is a critical infection that starts from either a tooth or the gums around a tooth. Such an infection can be very uncomfortable, painful, and causing serious problems to a person’s health. The treatment for an abscessed tooth depends on the severity of the infection, and whether it came from the gum or the tooth:

• In most cases, if the abscess is of significant size, taking antibiotics is necessary before any treatment.
• If the abscess comes from the tooth, a root canal should be done on that tooth by cleaning all of the infection inside and sealing the canals of the tooth. Eventually placing a crown allows a proper treatment.
• If the abscess comes from the gums instead of the tooth, drainage and curettage may be needed..

Full article: How Can You Treat a Tooth Abscess?
Source: Dental Abscess
In French: Traiter un abcès dentaire

Problems of Dry Mouth

Dry mouth, or xerostomia, is a state where there is a lack of saliva flow in your mouth. Dry mouth has many causes, and it’s sometimes possible to treat it or at least make it more comfortable. Saliva is important to keep your mouth moist and your teeth clean. It neutralizes acids produced by dental plaque and gets rid of dead cells that accumulate on the gums, cheeks and tongue. Saliva also prevents infection by reducing the number of bacteria and fungi in your mouth. And when it comes to nutrition, saliva helps to digest food by making it soft.

There are a few problems that may arise from dry mouth:

• The risk of having gum disease increases with dry mouth.
• The risk of tooth decay also increases because saliva limits bacteria growth and does a partial cleaning of food debris and dental plaque.
• Saliva improves the ability to taste and swallow foods. Moreover, enzymes contained in saliva help to digest these foods. Xerostomia therefore compromises eating because it reduces the ability to appreciate foods and to digest them.
• Dry mouth can also make it difficult to dentures and partials because contact on dry gums is difficult, and can also be painful.

Complete article: Can Dry Mouth be Harmful?
Source: Dry Mouth
In French: Problèmes de la bouche sèche