Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    My Dental Crown Fell Out: What to Do to Protect My Tooth

    March 5, 2023

    Is Your Child Missing Permanent Teeth? Learn its Causes & Treatments!

    February 28, 2023

    What Are Zirconia Crowns?

    February 23, 2023
    Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit
    kidodentkidodent
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Get In Touch
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    SUBSCRIBE
    • Home
    • Oral & Dental Health
      • oral and dental conditions
      • dental health tips
    • Cosmetic
    • Pediatric Dentistry
    • restorative dentistry
      • Bridges and Dentures
      • implant
      • Dental restorations
    • Orthodontics
    kidodentkidodent
    Home » Blog » Dry mouth: causes, treatments and home remedies
    General Dentistry

    Dry mouth: causes, treatments and home remedies

    KidodentBy KidodentSeptember 9, 2021No Comments5 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit WhatsApp Email

    Notice: Trying to get property 'post_excerpt' of non-object in /var/www/kido/wp-content/themes/smart-mag/partials/single/featured.php on line 70

    Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /var/www/kido/wp-content/themes/smart-mag/partials/single/featured.php on line 76
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest WhatsApp Email

    Dry mouth or medically called xerostomia is the condition when there is not enough saliva production in your mouth. You may wake up in the middle of night with a dry mouth or during the day, you may be unable to speak and swallow comfortably as before.

    Salivary glands in your mouth will provide the appropriate amount of saliva normally. Having normal saliva flow in your mouth prevents tooth decay and helps in digestion of food. But sometimes, you may have undergone chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer treatment, or you may have developed a kind of salivary gland disorders, or you have used medications to treat several diseases. These causes and many more can be responsible for the changes of the saliva composition and less saliva production, which give you the uncomfortable dry mouth.

    What causes dry mouth (xerostomia)?1

    • Stress
    • Poor oral hygiene
    • Dehydration
    • Mouth breathing
    • Side effects of common medications like antidepressant, antihistamines
    • Poor eating habits and malnutrition
    • High-caffeine intake
    • Cancer radiation therapies
    • Tobacco
    • Systemic diseases like diabetes, Parkinson and HIV
    • Syndromes like Sjӧgren and Heerfordt
    • Hypoplasia and aplasia

    What are the symptoms of xerostomia?

    • Changes of taste
    • Difficulty in speaking and swallowing
    • Parched and redness of the tongue
    • Red color of inside of the mouth(membranes and oral structures)
    • Ulcers and sometimes patches of yellow scales on tongue and in severe form signs of oral lesions on the interior parts of your mouth
    • Thrush and infections in the mouth
    • Bad breath
    • Sticky tongue and saliva, which makes your tongue movements become difficult and affects your speaking
    • Split lips and cracks in the corners of the mouth
    • Denture wearing among the elderly will be difficult due to soreness and sticky condition of the gums and other soft tissues in the mouth
    Dry Mouth Treatments

    What are the treatments for dry mouth?

    If you visit the doctor for the treatment of your xerostomia, you are asked about the medications or the diet that you have been taking recently. The doctor checks out the systematic disease and other special condition that you have to get to the main cause of your xerostomia.  

    Your doctor can do the following tasks to stop your dry mouth:

    • Prescribe topical sprays and oral rinses and mouthwashes to stimulate your saliva flow again
    • Your doctor can prescribe necessary vitamins and minerals to treat your dry mouth and your altered taste
    • Prescribe medications like pilocarpine, cevimeline and other drugs depending on your case and cause of xerostomia
    • Warn you of the diet and types of food that have left you with the xerostomia
    • The doctor can also suggest you to eat and try foods that re good for your dry mouth
    • Refer you to a dental specialist for treating caries and to treat your poor oral health condition by strategies like fluoride application and scheduled plan for healthier teeth
    • Explain to you to undergo a surgery. For example, sinus procedure or other paranasal procedures that can bring back your taste senses and changes of saliva

    What are home remedies for dry mouth?

    To treat dry mouth, you should know what causes your mouth to be dry in your case. After doctor’s checkups and examination, you will have a clear picture of the reasons for your xerostomia. Sometimes, home remedies can decrease the effects of your xerostomia.

    You can try these at-home treatments for dry mouth like:

    • Chew sugarless gums or sugar-free candies to stimulate saliva production
    • You can try xylitol containing mouthwashes and gums to trigger more saliva in your mouth
    • Sipping water is helpful to keep your mouth moist and wet
    • Try over-the-counter artificial saliva products
    • Cut down on drinking coffee or tea because caffeine is the main cause for xerostomia
    • You can use oral lubricants
    • Use mouthwashes and brush your teeth regularly. Your dry mouth may be because of the food you have eaten or food remains in your mouth

    Cut out your alcohol consumption and smoking. Alcohol and smoking are the primary causes of dry mouth even for a healthy mouth

    What does xerostomia do to my health?

    Dry mouth, if neglected and not be treated, can have destructive impacts on your health. Enzymes in saliva have crucial role in digestion of food and breaking down the food particles. Also, acidic bacteria of the saliva prevent plaque formation on teeth and wash away infections on your gums and inside of your mouth.

    So, imagine if there is not enough saliva flow in your mouth, what happens? Your overall health will be impacted. Poor oral health is the first problems you see and if this dry mouth has been neglected for a long period of time, malnutrition can occur.

    Second and common problem is that you will have much more plaque buildups on teeth and bacteria growth in your mouth. Rampant caries and oral lesions with even scales on your tongue and other soft tissues inside your mouth are all the results of long-term dry mouth.

    Are the elderly more at risk of dry mouth?

    Dry mouth can affect everybody in every age group. In case of our seniors, there is one thing that our elderly population should know. One of the most common causes of dry mouth or xerostomia is related to the side effects of drugs or medications that you take.

    Since our elderly are in ages that are more likely to take extensive number of medications, the chances of experiencing xerostomia get higher for them. With doctor’s treatment and oral hygiene plans by your dentist, xerostomia will be cured and treated. You shouldn’t get worried and stressed out. Live ever healthier and happier than before.

    Related

    Kidodent
    • Website

    Related Posts

    Wisdom teeth: what you should know?

    November 20, 2021

    Dry socket: symptoms, causes and treatments

    November 15, 2021

    What to do after a tooth extraction?

    November 11, 2021

    Comments are closed.

    Don't Miss
    Dental restorations

    My Dental Crown Fell Out: What to Do to Protect My Tooth

    By KidodentMarch 5, 20230

    Crowns last a long time, enhance smile, and are an excellent piece of dental restoration.…

    Is Your Child Missing Permanent Teeth? Learn its Causes & Treatments!

    February 28, 2023

    What Are Zirconia Crowns?

    February 23, 2023

    CEREC (Same-Day) Crowns: What You Need to Know

    February 18, 2023
    Sidebar-Vertical
    Stay In Touch
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Reddit
    Our Picks

    My Dental Crown Fell Out: What to Do to Protect My Tooth

    March 5, 2023

    Is Your Child Missing Permanent Teeth? Learn its Causes & Treatments!

    February 28, 2023

    What Are Zirconia Crowns?

    February 23, 2023

    CEREC (Same-Day) Crowns: What You Need to Know

    February 18, 2023

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from SmartMag about art & design.

    instagram

    Follow Me!

    About Us
    About Us

    kidodent.org is established and dedicated as a website to specifically inform and shed light on oral and dental health issues, which might have been neglected or provided as secondary health issues in most medical websites.
    We in kidodent.org want to supply oral health tips, dental care advice and raise awareness of the oral and dental diseases to anyone who is in need of high quality information.

    Our Picks

    My Dental Crown Fell Out: What to Do to Protect My Tooth

    March 5, 2023

    Is Your Child Missing Permanent Teeth? Learn its Causes & Treatments!

    February 28, 2023

    What Are Zirconia Crowns?

    February 23, 2023
    New Comments
    • jed on Invisalign Clear Aligners: Pros and Cons, Cost and Step-by-Step Process
    • Amy D'Souza on Is it safe to use hydrogen peroxide to whiten teeth?
    • Kidodent on Tooth cavities: what are causes and how to prevent or treat it
    • Separate Praline on Tooth cavities: what are causes and how to prevent or treat it
    Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit RSS
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Get In Touch
    © 2023 Kidodent.org

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.