For another perspective, I've had LPR / Silent Reflux for almost 5 years, not diagnosed until 6 months ago. After a lot of initial research, the one thing I did not want to do was go on PPI for the long term. There is all sorts of info on this, but nothing really conclusive. One site I like is the National Library of Medicine, part of the NIH (National Institute of Health). Here is one article from there on PPI side effects, with lots of other links:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31019676/I tried Jonathan Aviv's "The Acid Watcher Diet", probably the most popular one out there. I was convinced it was going to work, and stuck to it 100%, but it did not stop the reflux. Then I tried Dr. Jamie Koufman's plan for curing LPR, which includes a diet, use of Famotidine, Gaviscon Advance, and a bunch of other things. It was supposed to work after 4 weeks in 75% of the cases. It did not. By this time I had really bad acid burns in my mouth, primarily on the tongue and inside of the cheeks, fortunately not on the gums. I tried at least 3 supplements I found on Amazon, but they seemed to make it worse. There is only one thing that has worked, and that is Gaviscon Advance.
I had purchased Gaviscon Advance way back, to try in case the diet and all else failed. I took it in low dose a couple times but did not have much luck with it. I tried it again, usually twice per day, on Jamie Koufman's 4-week plan, which started on February 6. Again, I did not seem to get any benefit during that time. I continued on, alternating the Gaviscon Advance with a competitor product called Reflux Gourmet. It sure tasted great, but seemed to make my reflux worse. On April 1, I went entirely with the Gaviscon Advance, 1 dose after each meal, and 1 before bed. On April 9, I woke up with no acid in the mouth and it is the first time in months (maybe years) that I have had a good nights sleep. It's only been a week since that date, but I'm still finding that most nights I can sleep right through. I do still get a little reflux in my mouth occasionally, but the painful, burning tissue in my mouth is healing and is no longer painful.
The Gaviscon Advance comes in a liquid or tablet form. I have both, using the tablet after the meals and the liquid before bed. The liquid tastes terrible but may work slightly better than the tablet. What makes Gaviscon Advance (and Reflux Gourmet) different than other antacid products is the addition of an alginate, which forms a protective barrier (temporary) on top of the stomach contents so that reflux does not pass upwards into the esophagus. In reading the reviews on Amazon, I see some really bad "facts" or advise, for example, comparisons of Gaviscon Advance to Gaviscon or Gaviscon Extra Strength, as if they are mostly equivalent products. They are not. The last two do not contain the alginate.
However, I am not saying that because Gaviscon Advance appears to be working for me, it is going to work for others. Possibly there are dependencies. For example, I have completely changed by diet from what it used to be. Maybe the Gaviscon Advance would not have helped me if I had not made those changes as well.
If you are interested in more info on Gaviscon Advance and how it works, I wrote a Q&A review of it on Amazon:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/r2bivz8f51w8fb/ref=cm_cr_othr_d_rvw_ttl?ie=utf8&asin=b002aka9o0