Dentist Deerfield IL: Facts and Tips on How Your Saliva Can Keep Your Mouth Healthy
Brushing your teeth and flossing are really important because good oral hygiene is essential in achieving dental health. These practices help in preventing bad breath, gum disease and tooth decay. Having a healthy mouth also prevents medical disorders decreasing risks for heart attack, diabetes, stroke and preterm labor. Apart from good oral hygiene, it is important to know the crucial role of saliva in the maintenance of oral health. Saliva is a watery and transparent liquid that is naturally present in our mouths that greatly contributes to our oral health.
We can consider our saliva as a climate control system that contains several powerful substances, acids and chemicals that aid in dissolving and digestion of food. Your saliva can protect your teeth and gums from bacteria. It helps in lowering tooth decay and gum disease with its germ-minimizing minerals and proteins and tooth-fortifying properties. Our saliva also helps in securing dentures as we age, preventing denture-related problems. As people age, we produce less saliva and this is termed as dry mouth or in medical term, xerostomia. The symptoms of xerostomia include difficulty swallowing or dysphagia, a feeling that your tongue is swollen, or a feeling of forcefully pushing spit down to your throat. A dry mouth is a good medium for germs and bacteria to grow and proliferate due to saliva scarcity. That is why bad breath is also a sign of dry mouth, increasing your risk for tooth decay, cavities, and gum disease. The other cause of dry mouth include smoking, stress, dehydration, diabetes and certain medications. To keep your teeth strong and your gums healthy, it is important to keep your saliva flowing. If you feel the signs and symptoms of dry mouth, you can immediately produce saliva by chewing a sugarless gum, drinking water or eating something. It is also important to talk to your doctor about the drying effects of any medications prescribed and consult a dentist if dryness of your mouth persist for unknown reasons.
Indeed, there’s no doubt that saliva plays a vital role in our oral health and overall health. Our saliva cleanses and clears the mouth from leftover food that causes dental plaques, and our saliva has antibodies that help in destroying harmful microorganisms from the mouth. Our saliva helps in the restoration of our mouths’ pH level to help prevent damage to tooth enamel from acidic food. You can check our website or contact us directly so we can help you in finding ways to help you achieve good oral health. We can help you set up an appointment with a trusted, experienced and reliable dentist is Illinois.Getting To The Point – Dentists

