{"id":369,"date":"2012-07-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/at-every-age-saliva-plays-a-critical-role-in-your-oral-health\/"},"modified":"2012-07-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-07-12T00:00:00","slug":"at-every-age-saliva-plays-a-critical-role-in-your-oral-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/at-every-age-saliva-plays-a-critical-role-in-your-oral-health\/","title":{"rendered":"At Every Age, Saliva Plays A Critical Role In Your Oral Health"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\"\" YOU PROBABLY DON\u2019T OFTEN THINK ABOUT YOUR SPIT <\/strong>(and frankly, we\u2019d be a little worried about you if you did). And yes, drooling babies are a nuisance. But did you know that saliva is a critical component for healthy teeth and great oral health\u2014regardless of your age? Here at our practice<\/strong>, we\u2019re concerned about BOTH your teeth and your complete oral health. We thought you may find it interesting to learn how saliva helps keep your mouth protected and healthy, even when we\u2019re not around. <\/p>\n

Four Reasons Your Saliva Is Awesome<\/strong><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Your saliva slowly and continually builds your teeth into tiny fortresses<\/strong>. It carries minerals like calcium and phosphate ions which reinforce your enamel.<\/li>\n
  2. Saliva is an important part of your immune system.<\/strong> It contains immunoproteins that police your mouth, fighting bacteria and coating teeth in a protective layer.<\/li>\n
  3. It\u2019s a lubricant.<\/strong> Thanks to saliva, your mouth and tongue are flexible. Talking and eating would be seriously difficult without it.<\/li>\n
  4. Saliva<\/strong>\u00a0keeps your mouth clean. <\/strong>It washes away food particles and rebalances the pH level in your mouth every time you eat.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=liwZL5fJhMk&version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0] <\/p>\n

    Xerostomia (a.k.a. Dry Mouth) Can Be A Problem <\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Now that you understand how much your saliva does for you, you probably see what a problem it could be if it weren\u2019t there. When your body isn\u2019t producing enough saliva, it\u2019s called dry mouth, or xerostomia <\/strong>(pronounced \u201czeer-uh-stoh<\/strong>-mee-uh\u201d). It\u2019s often caused by common medications like antihistamines or antidepressants. It can also be a side effect of dehydration or diseases like Parkinson\u2019s and cystic fibrosis. Sometimes it\u2019s simply a result of aging. <\/p>\n

    Here Are A Few Suggestions That May Help You <\/strong><\/h3>\n

    If you\u2019re having trouble with xerostomia, ask us<\/strong> about it! We\u2019ll be sure it\u2019s not part of a bigger problem. In addition to the simple suggestions below, there may be other things our team<\/strong> can suggest that will help: <\/p>\n

      \n
    • Rinse your mouth regularly with water.<\/li>\n
    • Chew sugarless gum or suck on a sugarless candy to help stimulate saliva flow.<\/li>\n
    • Avoid alcohol and tobacco, which can both be\u00a0dry mouth contributing factors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Remember that if you ever have questions, you can call<\/strong> us, or send us a direct message on our Facebook<\/strong> page. <\/p>\n

      <\/strong>Thanks for the continued trust you place in our practice! We appreciate you.<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      YOU PROBABLY DON\u2019T OFTEN THINK ABOUT YOUR SPIT <\/strong>(frankly, we\u2019d be a little worried…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[176],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-176","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}