A question for all dental professionals?

Would you think that the use of dental bleaching trays at night might help to retain "some" of the moisture on the teeth, or enough to be of help, aiding in the reduction of dental caries associated with patients who suffer with dry mouth due to medical conditions or medications they take? I'm curious as to the response I'll get with this question, thank you all in advance!

A question for all dental professionals?
I agree with toothdoc. Ideas of things you could do to help would be to brush more often with soft bristle brush and a sensitive toothpaste (like sensodyne), and use a topical fluoride at home (dentists can prescribe these to patients). There are saliva substitutes that can be used, the only one I can think of off the top of my head is Salivart. It is difficult to duplicate saliva and it is probably something that people wouldn't even think could be a big deal.





I wish you (or the person with this condition) the best.
Reply:I don't think so. In fact, I'd think the opposite would be true.
Reply:I also have to agree with everyone. The use of bleaching trays would probably cause dry mouth to be worse, plus the teeth seem to absorb the whitening agent better if they are dried off before the product is applied. Xerostomia (dry mouth) is an unfortunate side effect of a great number of medications. It also, unfortunately, calls for a more meticulous home care routine to avoid rampant decay that occurs due to the absence of the protective barrier, or buffer, that the saliva provides for the teeth. I just so happened to see a patient yesterday who suffers from dry mouth, and he uses, and is very happy with, a toothpaste that he purchases from drugstores and even some grocery stores. It is called Biotene, and it is especially made to help with dry mouth. Good luck with your debate. Hope all these answers helped.