Do You Have Dry Mouth (Xerostomia)
30% to 40% of the world's population have some form of Dry Mouth, and this is increasing as our population ages. Virtually all prescription medications will cause dry mouth or increase the symptoms of dry mouth. Medicines such as antidepressants, blood pressure medication, pain killers, anti-inflammatory medications, allergy medicines, and gastric reflux medicines, all cause dry mouth.
According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 64% of dry mouth episodes have been associated with medication.
The other 36% of dry mouth episodes come from illness such as Sjogren's Syndrome, cancer, diabetes, or tobacco use, alcohol, medical treatments and just simple aging. Everyone is a candidate for dry mouth as they age.
BreezeCare Oral Health Company is proud to inform you that now there are simple steps as well as a new "All-Natural Green Tea" range of products called KFORCE DRY GUARD™.
KForce Dry Guard™ can help reduce the severity of dry mouth (Xerostomia). It has been developed with the research of Dr Stephen Hsu, a professor at Georgia Health Sciences University. Dr Hsu has dedicated his life to Green Tea Research and is widely published across a range of scientific journals. You can read one of the articles published in the
Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology by clicking the link. Managing Sjogren's Syndrome-->
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Three Reasons Why Preventing Dry Mouth Is So Important
1. Dry Mouth Sufferers Have No Protection From Acid Attack. Every time you eat or drink you produce acid that can damage your teeth and mouth in general. In a healthy (non dry mouth) individual this is not a concern as your healthy saliva
neutralises the acids that are produced. In fact over a twenty four hour period, a healthy person produces at least half a litre (500mL) of saliva.
2. Dry Mouth Sufferers Have No Protection Against Sensitivity, Erosion and Decay. Your teeth are under constant attack from everyday activities such as food, sport, stress and illness. When the acid levels are high or level of saliva produced is low, then Calcium and Phosphate can leach out of the teeth causing erosion and tooth decay. Healthy saliva neutralises acid attack by changing the mouth pH to neutral. Also healthy saliva can replenish tooth enamel by giving it back its needed Calcium and Phosphate compounds.
3. Dry Mouth Sufferers Have No Protection against Infections From Bad Bacteria. Research has shown that a healthy mouth has a good mix of bacteria that can defend the oral cavity from pathogens that cause tooth decay, bad breath and sore throats. These bad bacteria like to live in low oxygen environments, dry environments and acid environment. They do not like the oxygen rich neutral environment that saliva provides. So healthy saliva is extremely protective against pathogenic bacteria.
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How Do you Know If You Have Dry Mouth
Ask yourself if you have any of these symptoms or medical conditions as the onset of dry mouth may be insidious and subtle as you age.
Constant sore throat, a burning tongue or reaction to acidic foods are all indications of poor saliva flow that allows mucous to thicken at the back of the throat and fails to protect the tongue. Dry cracked lips and corners of the mouth, dry nasal passages either during the day or night, a constant thirst or lack of saliva during eating and talking again are symptoms of poor saliva flow. Finally saliva that feels stringy, or if you suffer from bad breath are further symptoms.
Sjogrens's Syndrome and Other Autoimmune Diseases
Current statistics show that 1% of the world's population suffer from Sjogrens Syndrome. Sjogren's is an autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune cells attack and destroy the function of glands that produce tears and saliva. It is also associated with rheumatic disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. There is no known cure to Sjogren's but it can be managed and controlled as we will explain below. |
New Research From Georgia Health Science University
The old theories lumped all types of Dry Mouth together and put the issues down to salivary gland cell death. New research by Dr Stephen Hsu Professor at Georgia Health Sciences University has shown this to be incorrect. His team has research to show that in diseases other than autoimmune, the salivary cells do not actually die but go into a form of hibernation due to lack of receiving the proper stimulation signals to produce saliva.
Dr Hsu's team has developed a patent pending "Permeate Technology" that uses four powerful Catechins found to be naturally occurring in Green Tea Leaf Extract. These four Catechins are powerful anti-oxidants that can stimulate gland cells and normalise their activity to help increase saliva flow. BreezeCare Oral Health is proud to offer Dr Hsu's discovery as KForce Dry Guard™, a convenient pleasant tasting chewing gum that is backed by science and shown to increase saliva flow for up to 4 hours when chewed. |
