Autumn Years Fall 2024

HEALTH & WELFARE

How to Combat Medication- Induced Dry Mouth By Dr. Christopher Cappelli

There are plenty of over-the counter dry mouth aids, and they all work for temporary relief. Biotene is one of them and produced satisfactory results in my patients. They have a rinse, tooth paste, gum and lozenges. If these remedies do not work and your dry mouth is severe, your dentist can prescribe fluoride rinses, high fluoride toothpaste and other supple ments. Dental hygiene will help you the most, when combating dry mouth. You will need to brush and floss at least three times a day. The use of a water-pick and proxy brushes will help remove debris and food particles from the deep pockets (food traps). More frequent hygiene visits to your dentist are the best. Having a cleaning four times a year will help with preventing plaque buildup. The average person builds plaque in three months, and the person with dry mouth tends to build it faster. A visit to the perio dontist is another option. Scaling and root planing will help with deep pockets and remove the subgingival plaque that is not removed during routine cleanings. Being Italian, I know that nothing is better than enjoying your food, and by combating medication-induced dry mouth I want you to enjoy yours throughout your autumn years. Yes, that chocolate covered cannoli is looking really good (don’t tell my cardiologist).

stuck in your esophagus causing hiccups, pain and indigestion. Diminished saliva can cause bad breath (halitosis), oral infections and dry and cracked lips. What medications cause dry mouth? Instead of listing them and turn ing this article into the best sleep aid ever, I will just go over the categories. Heart medicine to lower blood pressure, ACE Inhibitors, beta blockers, angiotensin blockers, calcium channel blockers. Cho lesterol medication to remove and reduce arterial plaque, statins. Heart attack and stroke preventers, anticoagulants, anti platelet aggregators, vasodilators. Diabe tes medication. Congestive heart failure medication, diuretics. Allergy medication, decongestants and antihistamines. Anti anxiety and sleep aids, pain medication and opioids. If you are on any of these types of medication, you are prone to dry mouth. What are you going to do to preserve your oral health, since you cannot discontinue your medications? It comes down to water intake, salivary flow stimulation and oral hygiene. Water is the backbone of life, and you need to increase it as we age. In the beginning it will lead to frequent trips to the bathroom, but that will change with time. Ice chips are another way to combat dry mouth. Sucking on ice chips helps with saliva formation by starting the digestive process by wetting the mouth. Sucking on candies (sugar free) helps stimulate saliva flow. Mild citrous, cinnamon and mint help too, though they need to be used in moderation. Too much citrous can cause enamel break down, too much cinnamon can burn your gingiva and too much mint can burn your throat.

I f you look at the side effects of almost every medication taken today, dry mouth is on the list. What is so bad about dry mouth? Dry mouth leads to excess caries (cavities) and excessive plaque. Plaque then causes gingivitis and bone loss leading to periodontal disease, pocketing and food traps. It makes it harder to keep your teeth clean. This can cause teeth to get caries in areas almost impossible to fill, root surface and crown margins. Dry mouth can cause fillings, crowns, bridges and implants to fail. Your teeth can become desiccated and brittle. Tooth fracture, breakage and gingival recession become more prevalent. The purpose of saliva is to keep your mouth moist, bathing your teeth and gin giva with enzymes and mucus that help prevent tooth decay and begin the diges tive process. With diminished salivary flow, chewing, speaking and swallowing become a much harder task. Saliva also helps to keep your mouth clean. Without it, water is needed with every meal. Food becomes tasteless, dry and difficult to eat. You become prone to food getting As our practice enters its 50th year, we have been seeing a complication that is affecting our autumn years patients—medication-induced dry mouth, also known as Xerostomia. As we age, who is not taking medi cation for some ailment? I turned 51 this year, and it was followed by “you have high blood pressure,” and here is your pill. Now I am greeted every morning with dry mouth.

Dr. Cappelli practices general, cosmetic and implant dentistry in Hillsdale, NJ. He gradu ated from New York University College of Dentistry and was in a general practice

residency at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, where he later served as Chief Resident. In 2003, he joined his father’s practice, which has served Bergen County for 50 years and, subsequently, took over the practice when his father retired.

14 AUTUMN YEARS I FALL 2024