About six months ago I wrote here and at Well-Ordered about a very nasty shock I received at the dentist: a whopping SEVEN $#%^&@ING CAVITIES. Twice as many cavities as I’d had in my adult life thus far. All of them between my teeth.
Getting those filled was no picnic, I assure you.
The culprit, it turned out, was my Vyvanse. ADHD drugs, like many anti-depressants, and many allergy meds, and many athsma medications, can dry out your mouth something serious. Without saliva, your mouth isn’t able to defend itself from teeth-eating bacteria. Teeth-eating bacteria cause cavities.
My dentist assured me that he’d seen this kind of thing before, due to all types of medication, and if I followed his instructions — floss EVERY night, use a prescription-strength high-fluoride toothpaste, and chew high-strength xylitol gum and mints — my teeth would be fine.
And they are! YAY!
If you’ve recently started a new medication, a trip to the dentist is in order. Tell him or her that dry mouth is a side effect of your new med (whether or not you’re consciously aware of feeling dry mouth). They can set you up so you won’t have to go through what I did.
Talk To Me