New to all this help!!!!

Lorraine, sorry to hear you are struggling and unsure. You are around the same age as I was at diagnosis and am now almost 61. Hang in there. MY teeth have been majorly  affected so can give you 2 bits of advice. Biotene dry mouth products are highly regarded for symptomatic control, but i believe none do a lot to prevent decay. You MUST find an excellent dentist who has knowledge and empathy with SS. You need to be proactive about this. If you have already lost teeth I recommend you ask to be referred to a prosthodontist, and one who knows SS. You will need a higher level of dental care than a general dentist can give. Throughout all my dental work salt rinses have been the best at reducing infection. And floss. Good luck,

Hi Lorraine

Biotene toothpaste and mouth Jel helps. The mouth Jel you can get on perscription.

Regards

Mandy

Hello Lorraine,, I too have recently been diagnosed my dentist advised me to brush my teeth but not to rinse mouth out... And to do this 2/3 times a day.. In between brushing to rinse mouth with mouthwash.. I also carry with me a mouth spray for dry mouth which I use when mouth goes really dry.. I got this from boots.. 

Hi Lorraine

I didn't get my diagnosis so young but definitely had it by college and possibly most of my life. I'm also 61.

I have only lost 1 tooth but that was really due to a terrible oversized crown put in below that tooth by a hack of a dentist.

The biotene products are great in combination with proper usage of them and correct brushing. The latter means always using soft bristles without pressure, then angling the brush up just a bit so that bristles are cleaning the gum line also. When I was taught this manner in my 40s I was also taught to start brushing horizontally rather than vertically as I'd done all my life.

Also you use both the special toothpaste and special mouthwash without any water rinsing between them, then try not to eat or drink anything for at least half an hour. (& wait 20-30 minutes after eating before you brush okay to rinse with water or wash &/or chew Spry gum while waiting) If you can't afford both then ,,, choose which you want. There's a lot of evidence that says that proper 2-minute brushing of teeth without paste is as effective as doing it with paste. Stateside we put so many chemicals into our water that are harsh on Sjogren's sufferers' mouths that I want the special paste. If you can't afford the mouthwash also just don't rinse after brushing. Spit out as much as you can and before long you won't think it odd.

Proper use of mouthwash is 30 or 60 seconds. With either or both of the specialty products you're trying to change the stasis of your mouth. Leaving everything alone for 30 minutes after cleaning helps these products work.

If you're in the States you won't need a scrip for the gel. It is a very strange substance the first 20 or so times you use it. I spat it out & rinsed my mouth with water the first few times. Now I keep a tube by my bed for when I wake up in the night. (If I were still doing book narration & lots of public speaking I'd carry a tube all the time.) You'll want to make sure you get it on the outside surfaces of all your teeth -infinitely harder than getting it on the inside surfaces

Same company also makes a spray. I keep that in my car.

Sugar-free gum is your friend. If like me you find it exhausting to chew a whole piece of gum, just chew half a piece. The Spry gum equals half a piece of regular gum & it uses the best-possible sweetener for our mouths. Hope you don't have TMJ.

All the above should make your mouth more comfortable but I can't say that these will save more of your teeth tho I sure hope they'll help. I have been on evoxac/civemeline for at least 13 years and it helps tremendously with my mouth and eyes. There are other meds but I can't use them.

We are always here for you. So is the moderator or his program, and they don't like stray periods in text nor links, nor too much use of brand names. Hence, I mostly don't capitalize namebrands.

Aitarg

I have tried biotine products and am not hat impressed I find the only thing that tempoarily works is sugAar free sweets - not even sure it is sjgornes just the dry mouth and eyes and sore muscles

Hi Lorraine,

im relatively new to this too and I cant take any of the prescribed medication as I'm allergic to plaquinell and I cant take the others because I've had skin cancer so I'm dependant on alternative medicine. I use the Biotene toothpaste and mouthwash and I find it very good for dry mouth I use hylo forte eye drops but Ive recently started taking a combination of vitamins and minerals, Magnizium 200mg twice daily, 5000mg biotin, Gensing, B complex and pro biotics and I can't believe the difference it has made particularly my energy levels and the muscle fatigue I only realise how sick I was now that I feel so well, it takes at least a month to kick in but for me at least it's made a huge difference so it's worth a try because the prescribed medication is serious stuff with some serious side effects. Good luck and stay positive and I hope you feel better soon.

Thanks every1 for replying 😘