Should you’re taking Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound, I must let you know one thing your physician most likely didn’t point out after they wrote that prescription.
Your mouth is taking a beating.
Perhaps you’ve already seen it.
Most prescribing docs aren’t warning sufferers about this.
Since you need to know what’s taking place in your mouth and what you are able to do about it proper now—earlier than you’re sitting in a dental chair with hundreds of {dollars} in therapy forward of you.
The Drawback: Three Methods Ozempic Assaults Your Mouth
GLP-1 drugs work by slowing gastric emptying—that’s how they suppress urge for food. However that very same mechanism triggers a cascade of oral well being issues:
1. Extreme Dry Mouth (Xerostomia)
Semaglutide (the lively ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy) impacts your salivary glands, decreasing saliva manufacturing. Analysis revealed in 2025 confirms this: these drugs trigger hyposalivation—actually, not sufficient saliva.
And right here’s why that issues: saliva is your mouth’s first line of protection. It neutralizes acids, washes away meals particles, and constantly remineralizes your enamel. With out sufficient saliva, you’re defenseless in opposition to decay.
2. Delayed Gastric Emptying Results in Acid Publicity
As a result of these drugs gradual how rapidly your abdomen empties, meals sits there longer. In some individuals, this may trigger bloating, nausea, and—critically in your enamel—acid reflux disease.
3. Disrupted Oral Microbiome
The mix of dry mouth and repeated acid publicity doesn’t simply injury enamel—it essentially disrupts your oral microbiome.
With out sufficient saliva to buffer acids and keep a wholesome pH, pathogenic micro organism can overgrow. This creates circumstances for:
- Accelerated tooth decay
- Gum irritation and illness
- Unhealthy breath (halitosis)
- Quicker plaque buildup
Right here’s what makes this particularly regarding: the mixture of dry mouth + acid publicity + disrupted microbiome creates circumstances for tooth decay that may develop sooner than your regular six-month cleansing schedule.
What You Can Do Proper Now
Should you’re taking Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or any GLP-1 treatment, it’s good to act now—not in six months at your subsequent cleansing.
Right here’s the protocol I like to recommend:
1. Help Saliva Manufacturing with Zinc
Zinc is vital for wholesome salivarynnbi gland perform. A 2019 examine in Scientific Stories discovered that zinc can assist to stimulate saliva secretion by way of the ZnR/GPR39 receptor—even in individuals with extreme dry mouth. And, in my expertise, most individuals don’t get sufficient zinc from food regimen alone.
What I like to recommend: A high-quality zinc complement, 15-30mg every day. That is the one I take.
2. Shield Your Mobile Power with CoQ10
Your salivary glands want mobile vitality to supply saliva. CoQ10 is crucial for that vitality manufacturing—it’s the electron service in your mitochondria. Analysis revealed in PLOS One reveals CoQ10 supplementation improves mitochondrial respiration and will increase ATP synthesis.
Whereas there’s no particular analysis on CoQ10 and GLP-1 drugs, supporting mobile vitality manufacturing is an inexpensive strategy when your physique is beneath metabolic stress from speedy weight reduction and decreased vitamin.
What I like to recommend: 100-200mg of CoQ10 every day. That is the one I take.
3. Help Your Anti-Inflammatory Response with C15:0
Irritation doesn’t keep native to your mouth. Gum illness is linked to a 19-36% improve in heart problems threat and a 34% increased threat of cognitive impairment.
C15:0 (pentadecanoic acid) is an odd-chain saturated fatty acid that rising analysis suggests could also be important. A 2023 examine in Vitamins discovered that C15:0 shares anti-inflammatory actions with longevity-enhancing compounds like rapamycin—reducing key inflammatory markers together with MCP-1, TNF-α, and a number of interleukins.
Whereas there’s no particular analysis on C15:0 and GLP-1 drugs, supporting your physique’s anti-inflammatory response is an inexpensive strategy when coping with oral tissue stress and systemic irritation.
What I like to recommend: 100-200mg of C15:0 every day. That is the one I take.
4. Help Hydration with Magnesium
When you’ve got dry mouth otherwise you’re dehydrated, magnesium is vital. Magnesium retains water in your physique—with out it, you pee all of it out. This can be a well-known precept in dentistry that most individuals don’t notice.
While you’re already coping with dry mouth from GLP-1 drugs, correct hydration turns into much more necessary. Magnesium helps make sure the water you drink truly stays in your system to assist saliva manufacturing.
What I like to recommend: A high-quality magnesium complement. (That is the one I’ve taken every day for practically ten years.)
5. Strengthen Enamel with Nano-Hydroxyapatite
That is non-negotiable. Should you’re on Ozempic, it’s good to swap to a toothpaste that actively rebuilds enamel, not simply cleans it.
Nano-hydroxyapatite is the mineral your enamel are manufactured from. When utilized topically, it fills in micro-lesions and strengthens enamel in opposition to acid assaults.
I created Fygg toothpaste particularly for that reason—it makes use of the fitting type of hydroxyapatite, it’s freed from important oils that disrupt your oral microbiome, and it’s utterly clear about substances.
What to do: Brush with nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste twice every day. That is the one I exploit (and co-formulated).
6. Rinse with Water After Each Meal
This appears nearly too easy, but it surely’s vital. After consuming or experiencing any acid reflux disease, rinse vigorously with water.
Don’t brush instantly (that may truly injury softened enamel)—simply rinse with water, which helps to neutralize acid and clear meals particles whereas your saliva manufacturing is compromised.
Preserve a water bottle with you always.
7. Improve Your Cleansing Frequency
Should you’re seeing your dentist each six months, that’s not sufficient anymore. It is advisable transfer to each three to 4 months.
Why? As a result of the decay course of is accelerated when you have got persistent dry mouth and acid publicity. What used to take a 12 months to develop can now occur in three months.
Your hygienist can take away buildup earlier than it turns into an issue and catch early demineralization whereas it’s nonetheless reversible.
8. Take into account Xylitol Gum
Xylitol gum serves two functions:
- It stimulates saliva circulate (mechanical stimulation from chewing)
- It feeds useful oral micro organism, not pathogenic ones
Chew xylitol gum after meals and all through the day. Should you can, attempt to discover a microplastic-free xylitol gum—the important thing ingredient to search for is “chicle.”
9. Discover a Useful Dentist
Most dentists aren’t fascinated with this connection but. They’re not asking about Ozempic, and so they’re not connecting the dots between your treatment and your sudden dental issues.
You want a dentist who understands the oral-systemic connection and who can work with you proactively—not simply react to cavities after they’ve already fashioned.
Use my Useful Dentist Listing to search out somebody in your space who thinks this fashion.
These are dentists who perceive that your mouth is related to your complete physique, and so they’ll accomplice with you to forestall issues earlier than they begin.
I’m not telling you to cease taking Ozempic—that’s between you and your physician. However if you happen to’re taking these drugs, it’s good to defend your mouth—as a result of the dental issues are actual, and so they’re preventable.
Mark
References & Additional Studying
Tanaka et al. (2002). “Secretory perform of the salivary gland in sufferers with style issues or xerostomia: correlation with zinc deficiency.” PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12132611/
Sakai et al. (2019). “Zn2+ stimulates salivary secretions by way of metabotropic zinc receptor ZnR/GPR39 in human salivary gland cells.” Scientific Stories. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-54173-3
Hernández-Camacho et al. (2018). “Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation in Getting old and Illness.” Frontiers in Physiology. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2018.00044/full
Venn-Watson et al. (2023). “Pentadecanoic Acid (C15:0), an Important Fatty Acid, Shares Clinically Related Cell-Based mostly Actions with Main Longevity-Enhancing Compounds.” Vitamins. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10649853/
Venn-Watson et al. (2020). “Efficacy of dietary odd-chain saturated fatty acid pentadecanoic acid parallels broad related well being advantages in people: may or not it’s important?” Scientific Stories. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-64960-y
Dialog Article (2025). “Dry mouth, dangerous breath and tooth injury: the results Ozempic and Wegovy can have in your mouth.” https://theconversation.com/dry-mouth-bad-breath-and-tooth-damage-the-effects-ozempic-and-wegovy-can-have-on-your-mouth-257859
MDLinx. “Ozempic tongue and different oral negative effects defined.” https://www.mdlinx.com/article/ozempic-tongue-and-other-oral-side-effects-explained/14KksdwDRewoiHHbMCdv3V