Dry eyes and dry mouth. For years that is what has been most associated with this disease. Use eye drops for that gritty feeling and drink lots of water to keep your mouth from being too dry. Conventional wisdom.
While the eye drops may help & you can't go wrong drinking more water, that does not adequately address or solve the problem. Number one, Sjogrens is so much more than dry mouth & eyes. Those are more or less identifying markers to help differentiate between Sjogrens and other autoimmune diseases. It has now been *determined* that Sjogrens is in fact a connective tissue disorder and can impact every major organ.
We'll discuss those points in another post, but in this piece I want to focus on how drastically Sjogrens disease can affect your oral health. Sjogrens disease is systemic and chronic. The inflammatory nature of this disease is a direct assault on the exocrine ( salivary) glands.
In short- you produce very little to zero saliva. The result of this is a mouth that's more dry than the Attacama desert. This dry isn't clear your throat & have a drink of water dry. This is bleeding, inflamed gums, difficulty swallowing and chewing level dry. This type of pain can be debilitating & impact every aspect of daily life.
I experienced all of the above for years with no explanation as to why or any real solutions to improve my condition. I was repeatedly advised to get deep cleanings twice a year and just take better care of my teeth. This was what I now know to be some of the worst advice I could have been given.
A lack of saliva production and chronic inflammation causes bacterial infections, root caries, cavities and loss of enamel. The dental decay this disease can cause is nothing short of a nightmare--one that I lived until I finally was blessed with a dentist that understood the disease and put his patient's over profit.
Tip: If you have excessively dry mouth & tooth decay but haven't been diagnosed, you may want to get tested for Sjogrens.
Eating became almost impossible,as swallowing was difficult and with a constantly inflamed mouth, the pain was debilitating. When I finally found the right oral health care team it was too late.
The effects of Sjogrens had obliterated tissue, bone, gum and teeth. The only solution for me was full restorative surgery. This explained the persistent bacterial infections, bleeding gums, etc. I don't share this to alarm or frighten anyone. I'm sharing in hopes that someone else can be helped. Perhaps your dental troubles have just begun or maybe aren't severe. If that's the case, here's a few tips that may be useful.
1. Seek a dental care team with knowledge of Sjogrens and it's potential complications. They will be much more empathetic & understanding of what you're dealing with and can better assess your needs, creating a customized treatment plan.
2. Stimulate saliva production. This will vary from person to person, but dry mouth with Sjogrens hurts. I recommend trying Flintts Mints. This product is a hidden gem that I so wish I had learned about earlier. It is all natural & the primary active ingredient is the Spilanthes flower a.ka. the toothache flower. It naturally stimulates saliva, and the mints have varying strengths based on your needs. A pic of my favorites and a link to the website can be found below.
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