‘Ozempic mouth' and ‘Ozempic teeth' can be frightening — here's the No. 1 way to protect your smile
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro can be a wild ride — users may experience dramatic weight loss and a sharp drop in appetite but also fierce bouts of nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
There's one possible complication that shouldn't be brushed off. GLP-1 meds, which promote feelings of fullness by mimicking a naturally occurring hormone, can significantly impact oral health.
This phenomenon is known as 'Ozempic mouth' or 'Ozempic teeth.'
'Much of this revolves around the side effect of dry mouth,' Dr. Elizabeth Walton, co-founder and clinical director of Risas Kids Dental in Phoenix, told The Post.
'With dry mouth, you have increased likelihood of dental decay and periodontal disease.'
Walton fills us in on ways that Ozempic-like drugs can menace the mouth — and how to get to the root of the issue.
Saliva neutralizes acid, washes away food particles and remineralizes tooth enamel, providing a lot of natural protection against sugars in our mouths.
GLP-1 drugs can influence salivary gland function and decrease saliva production. They are also known to reduce thirst, further diminishing saliva production.
'When the oral environment dries up, bacteria have a great time in there, causing decay and increased inflammatory response,' Walton explained.
'The increased inflammatory response has a direct impact on gingival health — meaning you are more likely to have problems with gingivitis and periodontitis.'
Gingivitis is inflammation of the gums, while periodontitis is a more advanced and destructive form of gum disease.
Dry mouth symptoms can range from mild to rather severe. To avoid having to undergo a painful deep cleaning or gum surgery, Walton's top tip is to drink more water.
She recommends consuming between 2 and 3 liters of H2O a day, which translates to about 64 to 100 ounces. Sugar-free gum also helps promote saliva production.
Biotène, meanwhile, offers a range of products designed to help manage dry mouth symptoms, including a mouth spray, oral rinse, moisturizing gel and lozenges.
'I found the Biotène gel to be best,' Walton said. 'But I had to carry it with me because the effects only lasted a short period of time.'
GLP-1 users should also avoid dehydrating foods and beverages like caffeinated drinks, alcohol, sports refreshments, salty foods, cured meats, asparagus and sugary juices.
And beware spicy foods, which can irritate a dry mouth.
Another issue with GLP-1 drugs is that they can cause intense gastrointestinal struggles.
'Nausea and vomiting have a massive impact on oral health, just like dry mouth,' Walton said.
'After you vomit, the pH in your mouth decreases significantly enough to make you more susceptible to decay.'
She suggests not brushing your teeth after you vomit. Yes, you read that right.
Saliva continuously produces a natural protective barrier for your teeth called the dental pellicle.
Brushing your teeth brushes that away, making your teeth even more vulnerable to the newly acidic environment of your mouth.
Acidic substances can be quite harmful, eroding the protective enamel of your teeth and paving the way for increased sensitivity, discoloration and a higher risk of cavities.
'It takes between one to two hours for the pH in your mouth to regain optimal levels after vomiting,' Walton said.
'So, if you get sick, rinse with water,' she added. 'Drink a lot of water — you will be dehydrated anyway because of the medication and now you just puked — and brush your teeth after a couple hours.'
And finally, GLP-1 drugs can cause changes in taste.
Food may not taste as good as it used to — or the meds leave a metallic or bitter taste in your mouth, which is known as 'Ozempic tongue.'
'Some of these symptoms will not go away, but luckily, you won't be taking the GLP-1 forever,' Walton said.
The metallic taste may be due to changes in saliva production, mild ketosis or bile reflux. Walton advises sugar-free gum to increase saliva production and 'confuse your brain out of perceiving the metal taste.'
Remember to talk with your healthcare provider about any side effects you experience while taking GLP-1 drugs.
'To be successful in your weight loss, you should enlist as much support as possible,' Walton said. 'Don't forget your dentist! We can help it be easier and safer for you.'
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an hour ago
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Lithium deficiency in the brain could be a cause of Alzheimer's disease—and a new potential target for treatment. Ten years in the making, this is the finding of researchers at Harvard Medical School who have revealed how lithium plays an essential role in brain function and may provide resistance against brain aging and Alzheimer's. Lithium is a chemical element, currently used as medicine to treat mood disorders like mania and bipolar disorder. "Most people associate lithium with psychiatric treatment. Our study shows, for the first time, that naturally occurring lithium plays a crucial role in maintaining brain health during aging—even at concentrations far below those used in clinical psychiatry," study authors Bruce Yankner and Liviu Aron told Newsweek. 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While genetic and environmental factors play a role, scientists also haven't been able to suggest why some people with the same risk factors might develop it and others don't—until now. The scientists unearthed that lithium loss in the human brain is one of the earliest changes leading to Alzheimer's. In mice, meanwhile, similar lithium depletion accelerated brain pathology (disease or abnormality) and memory decline. They also found reduced lithium levels stemmed from binding to amyloid plaques (misfolded proteins found between nerve cells found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's) and impaired uptake in the brain. One pair of boxes shows fewer green amyloid clusters on the left and more on the right. Another pair of boxes shows a dim arc of purple and red tau on the left and a... One pair of boxes shows fewer green amyloid clusters on the left and more on the right. Another pair of boxes shows a dim arc of purple and red tau on the left and a brighter arc on the right. More Yankner Lab In their final set of experiments, they found a new lithium compound that avoids "capture" by amyloid plaques restored memory in mice. "In people that start experiencing memory loss, the so-called mild cognitive impairment, lithium gets trapped by amyloid plaques—reducing its availability just when it's most needed to protect against inflammation and neurodegeneration," Yankner and Aron explained. "This creates a self-perpetuating feedback loop of worsening pathology and accelerating disease progression and memory loss." This all ties together decades-long observations in patients and provides a new theory of the disease and strategy for early diagnosis, prevention and treatment, according to the researchers. Recently developed treatments that target amyloid beta (a key component of the amyloid plaques) typically don't reverse memory loss and only modestly reduce the rate of decline. "The idea that lithium deficiency could be a cause of Alzheimer's disease is new and suggests a different therapeutic approach," said Yankner in a statement. Researchers had previously found lithium to be the only metal that had markedly different levels across people with and without Alzheimer's at different stages. But Yankner added in a statement, "Lithium turns out to be like other nutrients we get from the environment, such as iron and vitamin C. "It's the first time anyone's shown that lithium exists at a natural level that's biologically meaningful without giving it as a drug." Previous population studies have shown that higher lithium levels in the environment, including in drinking water, tracked with lower rates of dementia. Woman hugging her elderly mother. Woman hugging her elderly mother. PIKSEL/Getty Images Yankner's team demonstrated in mice that lithium depletion isn't just linked to Alzheimer's, it actually helps drive it. This raises hope that one day lithium could be used to treat the disease in its entirety rather than focusing on a single factor like amyloid beta or tau (another Alzheimer's-associated protein), Yankner said. Crucially, the researchers discovered that as amyloid beta begins to form deposits in the early stages of dementia in both humans and mouse models, it binds to lithium, reducing lithium's function in the brain. The reduced levels of lithium affect all major brain cell types and, in mice, lead to changes similar to those seen in Alzheimer's disease, including memory loss. Treating mice with the most potent amyloid-evading compound, called lithium orotate, reversed Alzheimer's pathology, prevented brain cell damage and restored memory. While the findings need to be confirmed in humans through clinical trials, they suggest that measuring lithium levels could help screen for early Alzheimer's. They also highlight the importance of testing amyloid-evading lithium compounds for treatment or prevention. While other lithium compounds are already used to treat bipolar disorder and clinical depression, they are given at much higher concentrations that can be toxic to some people, the researchers flag. Yankner's team discovered lithium orotate is effective at one-thousandth that dose— enough to mimic the natural level of lithium in the brain. Mice treated for nearly their entire adult lives showed no evidence of toxicity, the study found. If further studies confirm these findings, the researchers say lithium screening through routine blood tests may one day offer a way to identify individuals at risk for Alzheimer's who would benefit from treatment to prevent or delay disease onset. "Our study adds to growing evidence that Alzheimer's may be preventable—with something as simple as keeping brain lithium at healthy levels as we age," said Yankner and Aron. "Clinical trials [on humans] could test the impact of low-dose supplementation on cognitive health and dementia risk." Before lithium is proved to be safe and effective in protecting against neurodegeneration in humans, Yankner emphasized that people should not take lithium compounds on their own. Do you have a health story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about Alzheimer's? Let us know via health@ Reference Aron, L., Ngian, Z. K., Qiu, C., Choi, J., Liang, M., Drake, D. M., Hamplova, S. E., Lacey, E. K., Roche, P., Yuan, M., Hazaveh, S. S., Lee, E. A., Bennett, D. A., & Yankner, B. A. (2025). Lithium deficiency and the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Nature.
