Dentist Walnut Creek Bad Breath in the Morning

Suffering from Bad Breath When You Wake Up? Your Dentist in Walnut Creek CA Discusses Why

 

Taking care of teeth smile is an important part of your everyday routine and that includes scheduling an appointment here at our office. Whether you need a simple cleaning or a teeth whitening in Walnut Creek CA, our practice has all of the right procedures for you. But we want to discuss a common occurrence that patients suffer from in the morning and that’s bad breath.

 

Bad breath, combined with dry mouth, can damage your teeth more than you may know! The most common reason for dry mouth in the morning is due to patients who sleep with their mouth open. When you sleep, there is not as much saliva that is being produced, so when your mouth is open, the dry air is affecting the status of saliva production.

 

In your saliva, there is a pH level that measures the acidity and basicity. These numeric measurements are important because a level of 7 is neutral and anything below that is considered acidic. Researchers worked with participants that they forced to sleep with their mouth open to see how their pH levels will be affected.

 

Even though pH levels usually drop to an acidic when people sleep, it’s usually around the 6.5 or so. But when the participants were forced to sleep with their mouth open, their pH levels dropped all the way down to 3.6! Any level below 5.5 in the mouth means that the tooth starts losing helpful minerals that work to keep them strong.

 

Learn more about how your pH levels are affected while you sleep. If you’re looking for helpful dental tips, if it’s time for your bi-annual cleaning, or if you’re interested in teeth whitening in Walnut Creek CA, contact our office today by calling us at (925) 937-9017.