Stuffy noses, sore throats, and coughs are some of the most common symptoms that people often experience.
If you have any of these ailments, it is important that you pick the right medicine to fix the issue. Specifically, in the case of a cough or sore throat, you want to pick a remedy that is going to help the symptoms, not make your teeth more prone to damage.
Cough Drops Can Hurt Your Teeth and Gums
Letting a cough drop sit in your mouth to dissolve, allows your teeth to have something pushed up against them for an extended period. The gums are also undergoing this practice. Cough drops are notoriously sweet, even if they aren't full of sugar. Plus, many of them are also acidic. By allowing them to sit against your sensitive mouth tissues, it can cause a number of problems.
The acids can erode your teeth, the sugar or sugar substitute can promote tooth decay, and the saliva in your mouth often needs an extended period of time following a cough drop to restore the mouth's normal pH. This means that your teeth remain stuck in an unhealthy environment longer than is good for them.
By using natural remedies, such as honey or warm tea, you can help relieve your sore or itchy throat, without the negatives that come from cough drops. If you are one to use cough drops regularly, you may want to contact our office about it.
We may want to see you slightly more often, or we may want to do more to protect your teeth from this type of damage. Ask us what options you have instead of cough drops, when you want to keep your oral health in tip-top shape.
