You may not realize this but a number of medicines, and not just those which are available over the counter, can affect your oral health. Yes, this is the case, even if the medicine in question wasn’t prescribed for oral health in the first place. The reason for this is that a majority of medicines lead to dry mouth. Now, dry mouth in itself is a not a major health concern and most people don’t even notice it much, but at the same time, it can inhibit the production of saliva in the mouth. As dentist say, saliva keeps germs and bacteria at bay and when there is a lack of it, your oral health it is risk.
In addition to the bacteria, saliva is also responsible for neutralizing the different acids which are caused by plaque, which occurs as a result of food getting stuck between your teeth. This is something which saliva helps prevent in the first place. However, if you have plaque, saliva will keep the acids from affecting the hard surface of your teeth.
Even inhalers are known to cause oral health issue. One of the side effects of inhaling medicine is that it can cause a fungal infection, known as thrush. Thrush leads to the emergence of white spots in and around the mouth and it can cause significant discomfort. You should rinse your mouth every time you use the inhaler to keep thrush at bay. The treatments for cancer also affect oral health.
This is why it is important that you talk to your dentist about the effects on oral health any medication you are taking might have and if there are some precautions which you should be taking to ensure the impact is minimized. Moreover, you should be careful about taking any over the counter medicine as it may cause oral health issues.
