Fishy burps, uncontrollable belching and a mouth as dry as the Bolivian salt plains are all symptoms of the newly-coined ‘Ozempic breath’. With the use of Ozempic-type drugs on the up, these unsociable side effects are coming to light, and they are definitely bringing down the mood of the party.
Scientists are throwing out their theories about what’s causing this Ozempic breath. Is the drug’s drying influence on the mouth allowing eggy gas-releasing bacterium to multiply out of control? Is it due to the drug’s action of slowing stomach emptying that’s holding the food in the stomach for too long, causing it to stagnate and pop off malodourous bubbles up into our mouths? Does the change in eating habits trigger a global shift in the body’s metabolism, forcing the body into a state of ketosis and causing fetid smells to waft from our sweat, breath and urine?
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There isn’t a drug made on the planet that doesn’t have undesirable side effects, with some ‘side effects’ making people feel that they have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. So, understanding and weighing up the benefits versus the downsides is the clincher. This is easier said than done; trying to get a grip on all the interactions in the body in each of the tens of thousands of different body cell types is possibly inconceivable for any human brain.
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So, for me, the term ‘side effect’ makes it sound like the effect doesn’t matter as much, akin to minimising it, but biology doesn’t work like that. The drugs we take have specific intended targets in certain cells; however, they also alter any other random body cell or compound that they encounter – they have ‘direct effects’.
Ozempic, like some antidepressants, for example, Prozac, can permanently alter how our gut works, and the bottom line (sorry, I couldn’t help myself there!) can mean toilet troubles for the rest of our days – very unfun.
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So, how can you manage Ozempic breath if there’s no other workable option? Keep your mouth hydrated by making a water bottle your bezzie mate during the day. Use a water flosser to ensure no residual food particles are left behind from the increased vomiting associated with Ozempic. Lastly, bolster your natural microbiome by eating a probiotic-rich diet and using probiotic toothpaste to help minimise the sulphur-producing bacterium.
Lucy Stock is principal dentist at Gentle Dental Care, gdconline.co.uk
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