Dry Mouth – Dental Health POC

Diabetics are more susceptible to the diseases of gums like gingivitis and Periodontitis and cavities. Simple infections are more difficult to treat in diabetics and may progress to more severe forms. Thus there needs to be a deeper understanding as to why people with diabetes need to give extra care to maintaining their oral hygiene and health.

The maintenance of optimum sugar level of blood is the most important factor in keeping your mouth healthy. Our saliva contains natural bacteria which interacts with the sugar and starches in food and beverages. The bacterial interaction with the sticky sugar in our food releases acid which attacks teeth enamel and causes decay or cavities. The greater the supply of sugar more the risk of having cavities thus the need to control blood sugar level.

Diabetes reduces your ability to fight bacteria that makes diabetics more susceptible to plaque build up on teeth. The plaque on the teeth over a longer period of time hardens into tartar. The longer the tartar and plaque remain on the teeth more the irritation to gums around the teeth that leads to bleeding and swelling of gums causing gum disease called gingivitis. The milder form of gum disease called gingivitis if left untreated develops into more severe form in which the supporting tissues around the teeth and underlying bones gets destroyed . Over time the teeth become loose and began to fall.

Diabetics are more vulnerable to bacterial infections as their body has the decreased ability to fight infections. The elevated levels of sugar in blood also delay healing process making such infections difficult to treat.

Periodontal diseases and diabetes goes both ways simultaneously. The diseases of gums make it more difficult for people with diabetes to control diabetes. Severe gum or periodontal diseases increase blood sugar contributing to increase in period of time when body functions with elevated blood sugar. This puts diabetics under the increased risk of diabetic complications.

Diabetes is also generally associated with Dry Mouth that leads to problems like soreness, cavities and infections. The fungal infection or thrush is commonly seen amongst diabetics.

All these factors highlight the essential need of improved oral hygiene and cautious approach towards good oral health in diabetics.

Few essential recommendations are mentioned below-

1) Have a complete dental check-up once every six months or as recommended by your dentist.

2) Brush your teeth at least twice a day .Spend few minutes each time to brush so you may thoroughly clean your teeth. Toothpastes with anti bacterial agent may be useful to prevent gingivitis.

3) Other oral hygiene measures like flossing of the teeth may be used. Additional oral hygiene tools like floss with holder, inter dental brushes, mouthwash are easily available and are very simple to use. This additional care goes a long way in eliminating the small particles and bacteria from the areas in mouth that otherwise cannot be reached by regular brushing.

4) Scaling and root planning is advised periodically depending on gum condition. It is a professional cleaning that removes plaque and tartar from teeth and makes the tooth surface smooth so that bacteria cannot easily stick to the teeth. The frequency of such treatment is advised by your dentist. If proper protocol is followed it can bring a conspicuous change in gum condition.

5) Keep your dentist of any changes in the condition of your blood sugar and medication you might be taking. Postpone any non-emergency dental procedure if blood sugar is not in control.

6) If you are a denture wearer remove your dentures daily and clean then properly everyday. Denture wearers have high tendency for oral thrush owing to unclean dentures.

Diabetics need to have a good communication with their dentist. Any sudden increase in blood sugar level needs to be reported to your dentist. In such case dentist would need to postpone any surgical procedure that might have been planned. The procedures like surgical removal of tooth or impacted molar may have to wait till the blood sugar level reaches within permissible range. This will helps in ensuring proper healing.

The patients who are looking for teeth replacement by implants need to know that the healing after the placement of dental implants can be affected by high sugar levels in blood. Thus there is a need to maintain optimum blood glucose levels before you schedule for placement of dental implants. In severe diabetic cases with uncontrolled blood sugar level the implants can go for a failure because of delayed and poor healing capacity of the body. However such a situation can be avoided by your communication with your dentist.

All our life we spend 1,000s of hours expression our thoughts and feelings through our mouth and the same mouth is also used to feed ourselves to survive. Thus our mouth functions as the outlet to our thoughts and inlet to food for our survival. We use the same mouth to abuse someone and also abuse the mouth by not taking good enough care of it. Over one’s entire lifetime, people develop variety of oral habits like smoking; chewing betel nut, tobacco; relishing sweet products. Each potentially a harmful habit, when they do not find time to take care of their oral cavity – mouth, gums and teeth. Yes, -time’, because during the day time, we all would be talking, eating and drinking something. Thus the circulation of saliva does not allow formation of patches of starch or sugar on or between teeth.

But during night as we sleep the mouth is immobile and the saliva circulation is negligible. This leads to formation of debris of starch and sugar between teeth. Over a period of time this forms the tartar and plague. The mouth can thus me seen as a “gateway” that provides a critical connection to other parts of our body. Given its vital connections to the digestive tract, the brain, and circulatory system, doctors across all disciplines of medicine have placed an increased emphasis on oral health in relation to overall wellness. Now having known this important fact, let us look into what specific things make some people have healthy teeth even when they do not brush or floss their teeth, while million others have very bad teeth even when they regularly brush and floss their teeth !

1. Insufficient Ptyalin A popular belief held is that tooth decay results due to sugar forming a breeding patch for bacteria on the teeth. Typically the culprit is starch which has not been broken down into simple sugar. When the tooth-preserving systems in our body are working, this starch is broken down by ptyalin into sugar, which is then dissolved in the saliva and washed away. When this tooth preventing system fails, the starch stays trapped around the teeth. The harmful bacteria feed on this trapped starch, releasing acids that destroy enamel, leading to tooth decay. Hence, a sugar and other refined carbohydrates based diet are hazardous for teeth. To form sufficient ptyalin, sufficient vitamin B is required, which is found naturally in unrefined carbohydrates.

2. Saliva’s alkalinity The moment the enamel-eating acids are formed on the teeth, body’s second line of defense is to neutralize them with alkaline buffers found in the saliva. Saliva’s alkaline components are comprised of calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. Any of these minerals (particularly calcium) are in short supply, the saliva’s buffering capacity is lost and the likelihood of tooth decay multiplies manifold.

3. Insufficient Saliva Saliva’s buffering capacity is lost not only when its alkaline nature is lost, but also when the saliva itself is insufficient. Diets that are low on fruits, vegetables and liquids, and high on cereals; insufficient vitamin A; or low thyroid levels cause a dry mouth.

4. Saliva’s pH factor Acidic condition of the saliva can also lead to tooth decay. Increased acidity of saliva causes calcium to become more soluble. This dissolved calcium gets washed away and is lost through the urine. What brings about saliva’s alkalinity drop and acidity increase? It usually comes from ingesting excess of substances that produce an acid reaction in the body including sugar, refined flour products, legumes, grains, and meat. When these foods are included in the diet, they should be balanced with alkalinizing foods, viz., vegetables and seaweed products.

5. Food Habits Eating habits for a lifetime emerges significantly out of the foods one consumes during his or her first teething phase. Feeding a child with sweetened food product, raisins, graham crackers, sweetened juices, fruit drinks like maaza, slice, frooti, etc, that contain only about 7 percent real juice, inevitably plagues the child with a sugar habit into adulthood.

The sooner an infant develops a sweet tooth, the stronger would be the urge to eat high-sugar snacks as an adult. A child is most vulnerable to a sugar habit at the time of weaning. This is when a child begins to actually chew food, and this early chewing habit gets programmed in the brain that can last as long as a lifetime.

-Bottle Syndrome’, a term for baby bottle causing tooth decay, often results when teeth are incessantly exposed to sugary fluids, honey coating of the pacifier that most parent use to keep their child quite when they are busy with something else. Bacteria built up in the mouth; secrete acid, which eats through the tooth enamel. Primary teeth of a child are extremely vulnerable to this acid than are permanent teeth, as have thinner enamel to defend this acid.

Common types of dental problem occurring in a person are

1. Tooth Erosion caused due to loss of tooth structure due to acid attacking the enamel.

2. Bad Breath or halitosis is an unpleasant odor emitting out of mouth. The various causes leading to bad breath arise due to infection of mouth, tongue, gum, nose, tonsils, esophagus and stomach. Personal hygiene and proper food and oral habits can help one

3. Abscessed Tooth is an infection. An abscess can include pus and swelling or tenderness of the soft gum tissues surrounding the tooth

4. Dry Mouth also known as xerostomia, is a common problem and can cause extensive dental problems.

5. Sensitive Tooth Sensitivity also known as dentin hypersensitivity is temporary tooth discomfort or pain on eating cold food, drinking cold liquids, or breathing cold air. Forming good oral habits right from childhood can help overcome tooth decay.

Following are some of the basic oral habits that one should imbibe right from childhood to avoid dental problems:

-Allow your child to drink water only between meals, and other beverages only during meals.
-Juice should form less than 10% of your child’s total diet.
-Never let your child go to bed with a bottle of sweetened liquid.
-Never coat the child’s pacifier wish sweet liquid.
-Brush the child’s teeth before going to bed and cultivate this habit right into the adulthood.
-Visit the dentist regularly to identify any dental problem

The key to overcoming tooth decay is to minimize exposure to sugar, refined carbohydrates based diet and regularly brush and floss teeth after every meal or drinking sweetened drink.

Tag: Dry Mouth

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