Is Your Cough Medicine Making Your Teeth Sick?

Coughs, stuffiness, colds, and the flu are at their peak this time of year. While we all try our best to keep germs away by washing our hands, avoiding other sick people, and exercising, there are times when catching the bug is basically unavoidable. At my dental office in The Woodlands, our goal is to help keep our patients’ oral and overall health in tip-top shape, and we’d like to share some surprising information about some of the medicine that’s meant to make you feel better.

Cough remedies like suppressing syrups or soothing drops help to ease your discomfort, however they not only have the traditional side effects like dizziness and queasiness that go hand in hand with any medication, they can also contribute to tooth decay.

The ingredients in many popular over-the-counter medications have been proven to lead to tooth decay and cavities.

High Fructose Corn Syrup & Sucrose

This duo of sugars is particularly dangerous to teeth. When these ingredients enter the mouth, bacteria begin to feed on them. This causes the sugars to break down into acids which are dangerous to the tooth enamel.

Alcohol

Alcohol reduces saliva production and may cause a mouth to become dry. In a normal mouth, quite a bit of saliva is produced every day – about 10,000 gallons in a lifetime! This saliva is great for the health of teeth since it helps wash away the dangerous sugars and acids that can lead to cavities.

So should you just suffer through the annoying symptoms of a cold? Not necessarily. There are a few ways to decrease your risk of cough syrup induced tooth damage.

• Trying taking the medication as a pill instead of a liquid. This will greatly decrease or eliminate the duration of dangerous ingredients lingering on teeth.
• Don’t take cough syrup right before bed. Saliva production naturally decreases at night, and since cough medicine also decreases saliva production, there is much greater risk for decay.
• Take liquid medicine with a meal when saliva production is greater.
• Brush your teeth after a dose of cough suppressant.

From all of us at my The Woodlands dental office, we hope you’re having a healthy winter. However, if this cold and flu season isn’t so kind and you find yourself under the weather, be careful  of how and when you take cough medicine, and keep your teeth healthy in the process.

Serving patients from The Woodlands, Spring, Conroe, and surrounding areas.

Dentistry of the Past… Way, Way Past

Dentistry of the past differs drastically from what you’ve become accustomed to at my dental office in The Woodlands. There are now a multitude of options available: comfortable routine cleanings, painless fillings, aesthetically enhancing cosmetic treatments, all to get and keep your smile healthy. However, while dentistry has been around since at least 7000 BC., the level of care was extremely different.

Back in the day, the link between oral and total body health was not yet recognized. Dental care only occurred when there was already a problem, not before. Because of the lack of scientific information available, many civilizations crafted urban legends to explain tooth pain and devised excruciating treatments.

Teeth Worms

In 5000 BC., the Sumerians believed teeth worms caused tooth pain. It was widely accepted that the worms bored tiny holes through teeth, thus causing the pain. Some primitive dentists mistook the actual tooth root for a worm and extracted it (talk about painful!). Belief in teeth worms lasted until the 1700s when it was proven untrue.

Drill Like an Egyptian

Egyptians learned a lot about the human body from their practice of mummification. They figured out where things were, and developed methods for how to heal various problems, including teeth and mouth problems. The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus provides a guide for minor dental work available to early Egyptians. The guide shows evidence of drilling cavities and pulling teeth.

The Birth of Modern Dentistry

It wasn’t until sometime between 1650 and 1800 that dentistry as we know it came to life. French physician Pierre Fauchard, often called The Father of Modern Dentistry, developed many of the dental treatments we now use. Dental filling rationale was his brainchild, he helped link sugar to tooth decay, and his work  justified opening the first dental college in 1840.

Although dentistry of the past is frightening, the dentistry we perform at my dental office in The Woodlands continues to improve and evolve with breakthroughs  in dental technology and treatment options. If you’re ready to experience dental care that’s designed to keep you comfortable, pain free, and healthy, give us a call today.

Accepting patients from The Woodlands, Spring, Conroe, and surrounding areas.