If you wake up in the morning feeling dry mouth, it’s probably that you sleep – and breathe – with your mouth open. It may seem harmless, yet a New Zealand study published in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation shows that people who sleep with their mouths open are more at risk cavities. Indeed, breathing through the mouth makes the oral environment more acidic, therefore more at risk for tooth enamel.
For this study, researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand, studied the oral pH level of 10 healthy volunteers who agreed to sleep, for some, with a nose clip, which forced them to breathe through the mouth. “The pH level decreased slowly during the hours of sleep in all participants. But the pH became significantly more acidic in study participants who breathed through their mouths” pointed out Dr. Joanne Choi, lead author of the study. “Sometimes during this forced mouth breathing, pH levels dropped as low as 3.6 during sleep, well below the critical threshold of 5.5, the level where enamel begins to demineralize.” she adds.
This is why, according to the researchers, people who suffer from dry mouth (or who take medications that dry out the mouth) must be particularly vigilant about dental hygiene by brushing teeth at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and flossing at least once a week.
Read also :
New anti-caries solutions
Cavities: beware of certain medications
