Does poor oral hygiene cause sore throat?

Question

Hello doctor,

My throat has been feeling tight and sore sometimes in the morning. When it is cold, my mouth feels sore. The inside of my throat is red, like a strep throat, but it has been like this for a while. I do not know what it is. I have not been flossing for months. I do not know if it is because of poor oral hygiene.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Your throat is congested (attachment removed to protect the patient's identity). The congestion involves tonsillar pillars and pharyngeal walls. There are also hyperplastic lymphoid nodules on the back of your throat, which suggest chronic pharyngitis. So the picture is one of acute or chronic pharyngitis. Reading too much into a congested throat without attendant symptoms is not wise because your throat might sometimes show signs of chronic inflammation or irritation; still, one might not have signs or symptoms. So a bumpy throat does not always mean a bad throat. At times even normal individuals have bumpy throats. Since you have symptoms that suggest chronic pharyngitis, the cause could be a chronic sinonasal infection from the nose and sinuses, or it might be due to reflux (gastroesophageal or laryngopharyngeal) or maybe from the throat itself (from tonsils or nasopharynx). Even when the infection has been taken care of, the symptoms may persist as in a globus. This tends to be protracted at times and represents continuing inflammation even when the source of infection has been dealt with. As you rightly mentioned, this condition would need observation of specific practices, including dental hygiene, good rehydration, taking sootheners, avoiding snacking too much, avoiding heavy, oily, greasy meals, especially at night, and others. Thank you.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Most patients improve with a course of proton pump inhibitors for a month and a combination of mucolytic and antihistamines like Loratidine (Loratidine 10 mg) and Ambroxol (Ambroxol hydrochloride), in addition to the above measures. However, it would depend on the severity of symptoms and the absence of sinister features like progressive difficulty, painful swallowing, or any localized tenderness. Suppose it is a morning drag kind of sensation, a lump in throat sensation with no significant progression or worsening. In that case, if there is no actual sticking or food obstruction and no evidence of swelling in the neck, you can try the above measures. It is prudent to get a specialist opinion. Thank you.