However, one condition that may prompt you to seek bad breath treatment from your dentist Melbourne is dry mouth.
Also called xerostomia, this condition is characterised by inadequate saliva production, and it can lead to problems far worse than foul breath.
What Is the Purpose of Saliva?
Saliva is an essential component of a healthy mouth. It lubricates the gums and other soft tissues of the mouth to keep them comfortable and help with chewing and swallowing. Saliva additionally helps neutralise oral bacteria, wash away food particles and remineralise tooth enamel. Without it, you’re more prone to developing tooth decay, periodontal disease, fungal infections, mouth ulcers and bad breath.
What Are Some Common Causes of Dry Mouth?
Xerostomia is often caused by one of the following:
Medications: A wide array of prescription and over-the-counter medications can lead to dry mouth, including antidepressants, antihistamines, decongestants, muscle relaxants, high blood pressure medicines and chemotherapy treatments for cancer.
Medical conditions: Parkinson’s disease, HIV, depression, anxiety disorders, diabetes, Sjogren’s syndrome and nerve damage to the head or neck are just a few medical causes of dry mouth.
Lifestyle factors: You may develop dry mouth if you use tobacco products, consume too much caffeine, do not drink enough water, are under intense stress or have a bad habit of breathing through your mouth.
How Is Xerostomia Treated?
Treatment for dry mouth depends on the cause. If a health condition or the medication used to treat it is to blame, your physician may be able to switch you to another medication or adjust the dose.
You may also start taking a prescription medication that helps stimulate saliva flow. In other cases, you may need to adjust your lifestyle and try a few home remedies to obtain relief. This may mean quitting smoking, cutting out caffeine and drinking water continuously throughout the day.
Sugar-free gums and candies can help stimulate saliva flow, and over-the-counter saliva substitutes can keep your mouth moist. You should also avoid mouthwashes that contain alcohol, which can be drying, and use toothpastes and rinses containing fluoride to help protect your tooth enamel.
Dry Mouth and Bad Breath Treatment in South Yarra and Toorak
To help determine if xerostomia is the cause of your bad breath, contact us at Simply Smiles Dental in South Yarra and Toorak as soon as possible. Serving the entire Melbourne area, we’ll help you eliminate the bothersome symptoms of dry mouth and restore you to optimal oral health.
“Everybody Deserves To Smile”
At Simply Smiles Dental, we believe that dentistry is not a luxury, and that everybody deserves to smile. Thats why we keep our prices fair and offer solutions to suit every budget.
We make this investment in you because we’re pretty confident that you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you meet us. Our level of work and patient care ethic is first class.
Contact our Toorak dental office on (03) 9826 2220.
We are Medibank members choice dentist and Hcf members choice dentist.
(We are located in the Toorak Village, in the heart of Toorak and serve patients from Toorak, South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor, Southbank, South Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Malvern, Albert Park, Melbourne CBD, and from all Melbourne metro areas.)
