Santa Monica Mother Learns Of Unexpected Cause Of Her Cavities

BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA.com) — For ten years, Shirin Pourmorady, a busy mom and wife from Santa Monica was mystified.

"I was getting more and more cavities," said Pourmorady, who says she'd get them fixed, but they kept coming back.

"I didn't know what was the reason because I was taking care of my teeth," she said.

Her cosmetic dentist Kouroush Maddahi was perplexed.

"Her cavities were getting so deep that her teeth were breaking off," Maddahi said. "None of it made any sense until one day I started to ask her, 'What medications are you on?' "

Turns out, after a hysterectomy, Pourmorady was put on medication for hormones in addition to cholesterol and allergy medications she was already taking.

All of them can cause dry mouth, which goes hand-in-hand with tooth decay.

"And that is when I put everything together: that the dry mouth was causing an overgrowth of a very aggressive type of bacteria in the mouth," Maddahi said.

He says most people have no clue dry mouth is more than an irritation. Most people don't say anything until the problem gets worse.

"Thousands of dollars doing some work, redoing it," Maddahi said.

The list of medications causing dry mouth is easy to find online. Hundreds are used for common ailments and conditions.

"From simple pain pills to allergy medicines, antihistamine, to diabetic medication, to hypertension, to anti-anxiety medication, anti-depressants," he said. "All sorts of medication are now causing dry mouth."

Maddahi says there are simple solutions to help:

• Avoid caffeine and alcohol
• Sip water
• Chew sugarless gum
• Sleep with a humidifier

In addition, he recommends using a mouth wash for dry mouth.

When Maddahi couldn't find one that was organic and chemical-free and wouldn't interfere with medications, he made his own.

"I decided to make a non-alcoholic mouth wash that had dead sea salt in it, aloe Vera juice, zlotol, which also reduces the cavities in the mouth and essentials oil," he said.

Rinses can also be found at the store.

Pourmorady has been using the mouth wash and home tips for several months now and has no new cavities as of her last check-up.

"I've seen a miracle," she said.

For more information on Maddahi, click here.