The end of the year approaches and many of you are squeezing in those last yearly checkups. Don’t forget your teeth and mouth! I know that Burning Mouth can make dentist visits a bit more difficult but remember your mouth may be much drier than normal and dryness leads to more bacteria growth, which leads to decay.

Not kidding.

Saliva usually washes bacteria away as a natural process, but when there is less saliva, those bacteria can park and enjoy a picnic on your teeth. Decay, infection, abscess, gum recession, and disease can result and have you in a dentist’s chair longer and more often!

One strategy I have found to inhibit bacteria growth in my mouth is to use Xylitol (made from birch bark only) as my sweetener of choice. Click here for more information about Xylitol.

My personal strategy was to substitute Xylitol for my regular sweetener slowly. It can cause some side effects gastrically, so adding it gradually bypasses much of that reaction. I also gradually substituted Xylitol gum for my regular mouth-moistening chew.

The results have been awesome. Less plaque and tartar buildup at my bi-yearly checkups, no cavities to speak of, and the real benefit showed itself when I had a crown prepped for replacement yesterday. This crown was on a lower molar and I had chipped away the porcelain cladding over the years until it was mostly metal. In my last check up we found that the metal had developed a hole and I made an appointment for yesterday to start the replacement process.

To the dentist’s surprise, despite having a hole in the crown that allowed bacteria to enter, I had minimal decay in the underlying tooth. He asked me what I did to cause that because I didn’t even require a root canal, which was definitely a possibility before.

I told him about the Xylitol and he said, “That is great! Xylitol inhibits bacteria so well, I wish I could get more patients to try it!” He asked for details and I felt very good about using xylitol instead of sugar or aspartame or Splenda!

Does it help BMS pain? No. Not any more than chewing on gum of any kind does.

However, if it keeps me from root canals, etc., I will take that as a win!

Good luck out there, and keep your mouth moist and comfortable.