![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/182\/2012\/02\/dry-mouth-tongue.jpg\" "\\"dry-mouth")
<\/a>Dry-Mouth Tongue<\/p><\/div>\n
Saliva performs many functions.\u00a0 Not only does saliva help to moisten the tissues in your mouth, but it also helps keep your mouth and teeth healthy and clean.\u00a0 There are certain enzymes present in your saliva that help to digest food and plaque that adhere to your teeth after eating. If the salivary flow in your mouth is diminished, plaque and food sticks to your teeth more resiliently which increases the chance of having tooth decay or cavities.\u00a0 Dry mouth can also lead to mouth infections, bad breath and periodontal (gum) disease.\u00a0 Someone suffering from dry mouth may have gum tissue that appears red, a \u201ccracked-looking\u201d or red tongue.\u00a0 The tongue can even appear shiny from the dryness.\u00a0 Dry mouth has also been linked to an overall burning sensation in a person\u2019s mouth.<\/p>\n
Currently, there is no treatment available to directly increase someone\u2019s salivary flow or the amount of saliva one produces, but salivary<\/p>\n
<\/a>Biotene Mouthwash<\/p><\/div>\n
substitutes do exist.\u00a0 One \u201cover-the-counter\u201d option available is a salivary substitute called Biotene.\u00a0 Biotene comes in several forms\u2014a mouthwash, toothpaste, moisturizing gels and even a chewing gum.\u00a0 The Biotene products help to lubricate and protect your mouth just as your own saliva would.\u00a0 Incorporating these salivary substitutes into your daily oral hygiene regime can improve your oral health and comfort while decreasing the risk of tooth decay caused by diminished salivary flow.<\/p>\n
<\/a>ACT Anticavity Fluoride Rinse<\/p><\/div>\n
Another option for defense from the effects of xerostomia is fluoride.\u00a0 Fluoride helps strengthen the outer layer of the tooth to prevent tooth decay.\u00a0 As mentioned earlier, plaque and food can more easily stick to teeth in a dry mouth, attacking the minerals in the enamel to cause cavities.\u00a0 Fluoride mouthrinses, such as ACT, helps to counteract this process and strengthen the teeth.<\/p>\n
Whether you have a dry mouth or not, brushing twice a day with a fluoridated toothpaste, flossing once a day and visiting your Dentist on a regular basis (at least twice a year), is your best defense against tooth decay and gum disease! The team of dental care professionals at Norman Dental in Greensboro NC can be reached at 336-282-2120,\u00a0located at 2511 Oakcrest Avenue, Greensboro NC 27408. Here is a link to their website: http:\/\/www.norman-dental.com\/team.html<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dry Mouth and its Effects on the Oral Environment Matthew Norman, DDS and Michelle Phillips, RDH \u00a0Xerostomia is the dental term for dry mouth.\u00a0 One out of every four adults suffers from some form of dry mouth.\u00a0 Several factors can contribute to the presence of dry mouth such as: diabetes,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,177,204,178,188,180,205,206,207,208,209],"class_list":["post-2140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1blog","tag-biotene","tag-cavities","tag-dentist","tag-diminished-salivary-flow","tag-dry-mouth","tag-enzymes","tag-flossing","tag-fluoride","tag-gum-disease","tag-matthew-norman-dds","tag-michelle-phillips-rdh","tag-norman-dental","tag-oral-environment","tag-oral-health","tag-oral-hygiene","tag-periodontal-disease","tag-plaque","tag-saliva","tag-tooth-decay","tag-toothbrushing","tag-xerostomia"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2140\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}