I confess – with my British heritage, I don’t have the best teeth in the world. However – I’ve always been a regular brusher and flosser/water-piker!
So I was stunned when my favourite hygienist asked me if I had a new habit of eating a lot of sweets, or drinking pop and juices, or if I had acid reflux. My answer was a resounding NO! Why was she asking, I questioned.
She hummed and hawed and then said that I had seven small cavities in my gumline area. WHAT THE HECK!!!! My annual checkups are usually uneventful and fun. This one wasn’t.
I became a maniac Sherlock Holmes to solve this mystery. I found the culprit. Take heed and beware.
About a year ago I developed some sleeping issues and began using quick dissolve Melatonin before bed. The instructions were to let the small tablets dissolve under my tongue just before bed. So every night I’d brush my teeth, pop the wee tabs in my mouth and crawl into bed and read before lights out.
A trip to my pharmacist revealed the fact that there appears to be substances used in the ‘easy to dissolve’ and/or mint flavored tablets that have a variety of possible ‘sugar’ based components. It sure isn’t evident on the labels – the one that I was using had something called ‘lacto monohydrate’. Turns out that’s a milk sugar.
Here’s the solution (cause Melatonin is a very effective and non drug sleep aid). Pop those wee tabs in my mouth before I shower. Then do my teeth routine and jump into bed.
Here’s a great article I found from a dental blog that explains it from a dentist’s perspective too!
http://askthedentist.com/why-am-i-getting-cavities-all-of-a-sudden/
Do you or anyone you know use Melatonin for sleep issues? Were you aware of this dental related concern? What is your reaction to this ‘hidden’ issue in these kinds of products? Please share this blog post with anyone and everyone you can think of that would benefit from knowing this information.
Please share your insights, experiences and thoughts in the comment section below.
