Dry mouth is a condition that everyone has probably experienced at one point or another. Brought on either by psychological stress or by very physical activities, such as breathing in through your mouth at night when the sleeper’s sinuses are blocked due to a viral cold, making nose breathing not possible, the dryness that results is a breeding ground for bacteria that cannot thrive in the normally wet environment of a mouth that is awash in saliva. While the sinus blockage will eventually go away and your will once again breathe normally through your nose, and while the psychological stress will eventually pass, the kind of dry mouth that is brought on by the presence of gingivitis requires correction of a different kind.

As gingivitis progresses in your mouth, it will gradually affect the health of your gums, teeth and overall soft oral tissues. You may be tipped off to this condition when - in addition to a dry mouth – you also notice that your gums are unusually tender, you appear to have consistently bad breath, and your teeth may appear to loosen.

While a tenderness of the gums is quite common in response to the consumption of foods that may irritate the gums in some way, the prolonged tenderness that cannot be alleviated with the following:

• Removal of the offending food stuffs
• Avoidance of the irritating food items
• Good oral hygiene

As you brush your teeth, check for swelling, redness and bleeding. If these indicators are present, you may very well be suffering from gingivitis. Healthy gums do not transmit pain or bleed, thus a visit to your dental professional is indicated.

Many an affected dental patient has attempted to self-correct the problem by increasing the frequency and vigor of tooth brushings, but this does more damage than good since gingivitis will need professional attention to remove the deposits of tartar around the gum line.

Similarly, those suffering from bad breath may find that they will attempt to do away with the problem simply by chewing gum or turning to breath-fresheners. But, these short term fixes may mask the problem for a short period of time without actually attacking the root cause: the bacteria growing, reproducing and causing extensive damage in and to the mouth.

Of course, the loosening of teeth is by far the most telling symptom that your oral health is extremely compromised, and the progression of gum disease has been continuing unfettered for such a prolonged period of time that gums and even both are already being affected. At this point in time a visit to your dentist must be of the utmost priority to halt the progression of the disease but also to correct and hopefully reverse the process. Once your dental professional is caring for the disease, you may wish to discuss the use of natural oral hygiene products since they eschew the use of alcohol that contributes to the drying of the oral tissues.

Taylor Clarke writes natural health and dental articles. For the best Bad Breath and even Gum Disease products, visit us at www.oramd.com