Hewlett Family Dental Blog

Does your mouth feel like a desert? Saliva plays an important role in digestion, your ability to taste, and protecting your teeth against harmful bacteria left behind by food particles. A decrease in your saliva production is not only a nuisance, but it can negatively impact your oral health. Here, we’ll discuss some of the most common causes of dry mouth and a few best practices to correct it. 1. Medicinal Side Effects Medications used to treat a variety of health issues can cause dry mouth. These medications are not limited to prescription drugs, as several over-the-counter medications can have the same effect. The most notable dry mouth inducing medications include antidepressants, antihistamines, pain medication, blood pressure medication, and a variety of others. If one of these medications is responsible for your symptoms, oftentimes your doctor can put you on a different medication or slightly lower the dosage. 2. Excessive Tobacco & Alcohol Use If you notice yo

Have you ever had the experience where your teeth feel rough? If so, it could be an indication that your tooth enamel may be eroding. Here, we’ll explain what it means if your teeth feel rough and what exactly enamel erosion is. What Is Tooth Enamel? Before we dive into enamel erosion, let’s talk about enamel itself. Tooth enamel is the hard, outermost layer of your teeth that protects them against all kinds of damage, such as decay and trauma from impact. Though it is incredibly strong, enamel is not impervious to acids, which wear away at and erode your enamel and lead to tooth decay. What Causes Enamel Erosion? There are a number of things that can cause enamel erosion: Poor oral hygiene allows plaque to accumulate along your teeth and gumline. When this plaque feeds upon your dietary sugars, it produces enamel-destroying acids. Your diet has a lot to do with the strength or weakness of your enamel. For example, foods and drinks high in acids such as carbonated drink