Causes

If you experience chronic dry mouth, there could be several culprits behind it. One of these is medication. Depending on which medications you’re taking, many of them can be responsible for causing a lack of saliva production. These include psychiatric meds as well as hypertension or even incontinence medications. If you suspect one of your medications (or several) are causing your dry mouth, talk with your doctor about what you can do. Smoking can also cause dry mouth, as can being dehydrated. Many people don’t drink enough water. Aim to get at least five or six glasses a day, more if it’s warm outside and you’re active!

Symptoms

Symptoms of chronic dry mouth include feeling thirsty often, having dry lips or even having sores in your mouth. You may also experience a sticky feeling in your mouth, dry throat, a red tongue, bad breath, and even problems swallowing. While some of these symptoms may seem minor, others—such as trouble swallowing and sores in the mouth—can become bigger problems. And no one likes having bad breath! If you’re experiencing one or more of these symptoms chronically, you could have chronic dry mouth. It’s time to visit your doctor as well as your dentist to see what you can do for your dry mouth.

Finding Relief

One of the easiest things you can do for instant relief is to begin drinking more water. Carry a bottle with you and sip throughout the day. To address your chronic dry mouth, visit your doctor if you suspect the cause is medication. There might be a different medication you can try or perhaps a different dose. There are also medications and rinses that can help your body produce more saliva. Other simple steps you can take are to add a vaporizer to your bedroom, minimize the amount of caffeine or alcohol you consume (both act as dehydrators), and avoid foods that are corrosive to your teeth to prevent further damage.

While having a dry mouth may not seem like a big issue, consider that having a chronic dry mouth can wreak havoc on your teeth. Saliva is meant to nourish our teeth, balance our good and bad bacteria, and prevent plaque from forming. When you have minimal saliva present, your teeth are more at risk for problems that wouldn’t normally develop without the presence of a dry mouth. It’s vital to talk with your dentist to see what you can do to treat your dry mouth before it damages your smile!

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What situations call for a root canal retreatment?

New Decay – Using an x-ray, your dentist may notice new decay that is occurring. Sometimes this occurs when a crown placement is delayed. As a result, the tooth has time to decay further. Reinfection of the root can occur, or continued decay of the tooth.

Reinfection of the Root – Sometimes this is the result of a delay in placing a crown. At other times, some of the infection is in a curved or narrow root canal resulting in a complication of the original procedure.

Original Filling Is Leaking – When the filling leaks, this can allow another infection to spring up. This can also occur if the crown becomes damaged.

Tooth Is Fractured – If a treated tooth becomes fractured, additional treatment becomes necessary.

Tooth Did Not Heal Properly – This can have numerous causes ranging from complications in the size or shape of the root canals to crown and filling issues.

While root canal treatments are successful about 97% of the time, even a successful treatment may spontaneously fail on occasion due to the causes noted above. If this occurs, retreatment can once again successfully save the tooth for many years, often for the rest of a person’s natural life.

Should I Opt for Retreatment if There Is No Pain?

Sometimes your dentist will catch something on an x-ray that you don’t even feel yet. When this is the case, it can be tough to decide to undergo retreatment. However, it is important to remember that by the time pain is felt, a lot of damage is done. For a tooth that has already experienced a root canal procedure, the best chance of saving the tooth is by performing retreatment before the new concern gets worse. While you may not be in pain now, your dentist will only recommend retreatment if an issue is imminent. Waiting for the pain to start may make it too late to save the tooth.

Once again, retreatment only presents one alternative, and that is extraction. That means that if the conditions above present themselves, retreatment is the best option.

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