It’s common to feel bitterness in your mouth, however, have you ever questioned why? Well to answer this question: “why does your mouth get bitter?” There are a variety of different causes that make your mouth bitter, thus, you need to analyze all of them in order to be able to find the best medical solutions. Commonly, feeling a bitter taste in your mouth means that you have a certain type of disease.
In this article, we discuss some of the most common causes of mouth bitterness, and explain each one for you to be familiar with them all. We also provide you with the medical solutions of each cause. So, if you are interested in more information about this subject, you should read this article carefully to the end.
Causes of Mouth Bitterness and Ways to Prevent It
There are different causes which can make your mouth feel bitter, including certain diseases or taking some drugs.
1- Poor oral and dental hygiene is one of the most important causes of mouth bitterness
Ignoring oral and dental hygiene instructions is a frequent cause which results in mouth bitterness. Maybe it has happened to you that you feel bitterness in your mouth, when you wake up. It may have many reasons including accumulation of saliva in the mouth and accumulation of bacteria over the tongue and gums. It can directly affect your bad breath and somehow change your tasting ability.
Brushing tongue to get rid of mouth bitterness
One of the best approaches to avoid bitterness and similar problems is brushing your teeth at least two times a day. It is better to brush your teeth once after eating your breakfast and then before going to bed at night. Moreover, don’t forget that brushing would play a key role in keeping your tongue safe against both the bacteria and dead cells, which in turn would directly reduce bad breath and sense of bitterness in the mouth.
2- The effect of liver problems on the mouth bitterness
If your liver does not work properly, your body would start to produce a great deal of ammonia, which in turn will be converted into a toxic substance, something that will become urea by the liver. Increasing the level of ammonia in the body will make your mouth bitter. In this condition, usually the best approach is to visit a gastroenterologist and to share your problem with them.
3- Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD)
Gastro-oesophageal reflux (GORD) occurs when during the digestion process the stomach contents return to the esophagus. In this condition, the stomach’s acid would move into your mouth and make it immensely bitter. One of the most important approaches to solve this problem is avoiding fatty foods as much as possible. It would help you to avoid a bitter mouth considerably.
On the other hand, eating foods whose digestion is hard and long for the stomach is not recommended for those who suffer from this disease, because such foods stimulate your stomach to produce a great deal of acid, which in turn will follow with further bitterness in your mouth. Also it is important to remember to avoid eating meals with high volume, because it would undermine the effective digestion of foods processed by the stomach.
4- The Effect of pregnancy on mouth bitterness
Mouth bitterness commonly occurs in most women during their pregnancy, especially during their first trimester of pregnancy. A key factor in this condition is hormonal changes in pregnant women’s body, which often would resolve within the first few days. This condition would be experienced by some women as a feeling of something like a coin in the mouth or drinking water from a metal cup.
One of the best approaches to get rid of this problem is drinking lemon juice. When you do this, you will find that the former bitterness you used to feel now has been removed and you do not feel it any more. Another way is by licking a lemon ice-cream.
Mouth bitterness during pregnancy
5- The Effect of Taking Medicines on Mouth Bitterness
There are some antibiotics which are absorbed into our body and then are secreted as saliva. For this reason, we may again feel bitterness in our mouth. Tetracycline and drugs prescribed for the gout are among the antibiotics which would develop such a feeling in our mouth. The important point you need to know is that some of these medicines are used for treating cardiovascular diseases.
Antidepressants may also make your mouth feel bitter. On the other hand, these medicines would result in a dry mouth and would paralyze your sense of taste. You need to keep in mind that this problem would resolve after several days since you started to take them, so it is not a long-standing problem.
However, if you feel that this bitterness has remained in your mouth for a long time, you are recommended to visit your doctor and to share it with them in no time.
Another very common cause of mouth bitterness is taking supplements, they are used in order to compensate for various vitamin deficiencies in our body. Zinc, copper, iron and chrome supplements are among supplements which can develop a bitter taste like a metal’s taste in the mouth. It is a very common disorder and it would be resolved usually whenever the consumed supplement was absorbed by your body completely. Sometimes, people are not patient enough to wait until the absorption process finishes and they suffer from the bitterness in their mouth. In such cases, experts suggest you decline the dose of the supplement. In this way, you can considerably control the sense of bitterness you may feel in your mouth.
Mouth Bitterness and Ways to Treat It FAQ
1- Can mouth bitterness be treated?
Yes, mouth bitterness is a type of problem that can be treated and there are various solutions to get rid of it.
2- What should we do to get rid of mouth bitterness?
Firstly, you need to find the main cause of our mouth bitterness which would be gastrointestinal problems such as taking certain medicines and then accordingly the proper treatment will be selected by the doctor or dentist.
3- Is the mouth bitterness a permanent problem?
No, in most cases, using medical solutions will help you to decline your mouth bitterness, if not completely resolve it.
4- Is there any certain medicine for the mouth bitterness?
No. depending on the cause of the mouth bitterness, various medicines can be prescribed, so there is not any single medicine to get rid of this problem.
5- Is there any relation between respiratory infections and mouth bitterness?
Yes, respiratory infections could be a cause of the mouth bitterness.