Asthma and your oral health

How can Asthma affect your oral health?

Several drugs that are used to treat asthma have effects on your mouth and on your throat. Rescue inhalers can cause xerostomia or dry mouth. Strong anti-inflammatory medications like corticosteroids can cause xerostomia or dry mouth as well. Moreover, these types of medications slow down the healing process. If you are using an inhaler with steroids then you should use a spacer which is a plastic tube that is attached to the inhaler. It will hold the dose when you inhale. You should make sure to clean your mouth with water afterwards. This will help you decrease the chance of getting yeast infections in your mouth. Cromolyn causes cough, nausea, bad tastes in your mouth, and an irritation of your mouth and throat.

You should bring your inhaler to your dental appointments. You should bring a list of the medications you take and their corresponding dosages. You should tell your dentist about your latest asthma attacks, the triggers of your asthma attacks, the seriousness of your asthma attacks, and any hospital visits you made because of asthma attacks.

Normally, your body should produce hormones that help you and your body respond to stressful situations. If you are taking steroids then these glands may not work properly. Those who take steroids may not have enough hormones to manage stress. It could cause problems when you go to the dentist. If you are taking steroids then you should let your dentist know about it. There may be times where more steroid treatment is needed for you during dental operations.

There are some asthma medications that could interact with drugs that your dentist will prescribe. Some of these asthma drugs are theophylline and zafirlukast. You should tell your dentist about the drugs you take and their respective dosage.