Adderall is a stimulant that is helpful for people with a medical condition like hypersomnia or ADHD, but it has various side effects. One such side effect is getting bad breath as your mouth gets dry while being on this medication. As your saliva stops normally generating like before, it brings various problems, including bad breath. You can ask your doctor to change your dosage or switch your medicine with her medication.
If you’ve been having pretty bad breath or someone outright pointed out the unpleasant smell from your mouth, it could be something that made you feel a bit worried. If you’re currently taking Adderall, then it’s right to think your bad breath is a side effect of taking this medication.
While bad breath could be one issue that might come to light quickly, there are other problems.
Your breath and dental health can be affected by taking Adderall, which you might overlook first. So, let’s try to understand how Adderall is responsible for your bad breath and how can you fix this?
Adderall and side effects
Adderall is prescribed as a treatment to people with hypersomnia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as it helps improve concentration and focus.
It targets the central nervous system to increase wakefulness. Adderall is a stimulant that can be effective but has various side effects. One such side effect of taking Adderall is getting bad breath.
Other side effects of being on Adderall include:
- High blood pressure
- Sleeping problems
- Shortness of breath
- Stomachache
- Loss of appetite
- Increased heart rate
- Hives
- Numb fingers
- Slow growth
- Weight loss
- Constricted blood vessels
- Impulse control
- Cold toes
- Nervousness
- Swelling
Adderall causing bad breath
Adderall is a prescription drug that can be pretty effective for your hypersomnia and ADHD when prescribed by your doctor and taken according to the prescription.
Most people don’t realize how it can also affect your breath and cause other dental issues that aren’t recognizable in the beginning so quickly.
It’s crucial to understand the role of saliva in our mouth to understand how it makes your breath go bad.
When our glands secrete saliva, it performs vital functions such as:
- It contains enzymes that function in the initial stages of digestion of our food.
- It contains minerals that help neutralize the acids produced by bacteria in dental plaque. These minerals are also helpful in repairing early tooth damage.
- It helps keep our mouth moist and comfortable. It allows us to taste things we eat and washes down our food smoothly while cleaning it from our teeth.
If our mouth goes dry and our glands start producing less saliva, there are many things you’ll notice happening with your mouth.
- You will immediately notice you have bad breath and a bad taste, changing entirely from before.
- There will be an increase in the temperature and sweet sensitivity in your mouth.
- If you have a dry mouth, there will be an accumulation of plaque, white spots on tooth enamel, and an increase in tooth decay.
- You’ll get dry lips, inflammation, crusting at the corner of your lips, unspecific gum irritations, and a painful and burning mouth.
Taking Adderall can cause you to have a dry mouth. It will lead you to experience a hoarse and dry mouth, which automatically leads to bad breath. Now, it’s easier to understand how this cause-and-effect relationship comes into existence.
Ways to fix your bad breath
When you’re on Adderall, you will notice having a dry mouth, resulting in bad breath. While there might be reasons you can’t get off Adderall due to your medical condition, there are still ways to manage dry mouth.
You can get rid of your bad breath in different ways, such as:
- You can find artificial saliva products in spray form at any drugstore near you. These will help moisten your tissues and lessen the discomfort of having a dry mouth.
- You can keep sugar-free gum with you and chew on it or sugar-free hard candy, which can help generate saliva and keep it flowing.
- You can also apply fluoride to your teeth which will help strengthen the enamel and protect your teeth from acid. It will stop bacteria from multiplying and protect teeth from bacteria attacks reducing the chances of bad breath.
- Stop smoking and tobacco use.
- Limit your caffeine.
- Avoid using mouthwash that contains alcohol.
- Use a humidifier at night.
- Try to breathe through your nose rather than your mouth.
- Talk to your doctor and explore more options for changing the dosage or the medicine itself.
Another dental issue of using Adderall
Another issue of using Adderall coupling with dry mouth and bad breath is bruxism (teeth grinding and clenching).
Although there could be various causes for bruxism, taking stimulants as Adderall can also be one of the causes.
If you have mild bruxism, it might get better on its own, and you won’t need treatment.
If you have severe bruxism accompanied by symptoms like severe headache, jaw pain, and damage to the teeth, you’ll be requiring treatments.
There are various treatments for bruxism, but if you don’t know where to start, you can take counseling on relaxation.
Talking to your doctor about the dosage of Adderall and if you can switch it with other medicine can make a difference too.
Then, of course, making necessary lifestyle changes is essential, which includes quitting smoking and drinking.
Your dentist might even recommend using a mouthguard while sleeping. There could also be a problem with the alignment of your teeth.
FAQs
Can medications cause bad breath?
Many medications can cause bad breath and alter your sense of taste, including antihistamines to treat allergies and diuretics. These medications cause your mouth to get dry, further resulting in bad breath.
Other medicines like triamterene and paraldehyde also cause bad breath.
Does dry mouth from Adderall go away?
You can ask your doctor to change your dosage of Adderall or ask him to switch it to a different medication.
Doing this might help your bad breath go away. For some people, side effects like dry mouth might only exist initially and will go away after some time.
Is Adderall bad for your heart?
Taking Adderall can affect your heart and cardiovascular system when used for a long time or used in excess.
People with ADHD who take Adderall reported hypertension (high blood pressure) and tachycardia (irregular heart rate).
Why does Adderall make my mouth taste bad?
Medications like Adderall can decrease the threshold for the bitter taste in your mouth, making you more sensitive to the perception that something is bitter.
The longer you use these medications, the more your taste will get affected and take longer to get back to normal.
To summarize
People can have different medical conditions which might require them to be on stimulant medications like Adderall.
But taking Adderall can have several side effects. While bad breath is noticeable initially, the other side effects come to light with the long-term use of Adderall.
Bad breath commonly generates from having a dry mouth which happens as a result of taking Adderall. As your saliva stops generating as it used to before, it brings several issues and bad breath.
There are several ways to fix the bad breath that you can follow. You can also ask your doctor to switch your medicine or change your dosage of Adderall to help you manage your bad breath.
