Dental Health and Parched Mouth

Saliva is necessary for everyone to properly hydrate, clean, and digest food. Through its ability to regulate oral bacteria and fungus, saliva also helps to prevent illness.

Read More: Dry Mouth Prevention

Your mouth becomes unpleasant and dry when there is not enough saliva produced. Thankfully, there are several therapies available to combat xerostomia, or dry mouth.

What Makes Your Mouth Dry?

A few reasons for dry mouth are:

adverse reaction to certain drugs. Many prescription and over-the-counter medications, such as those for depression, anxiety, pain, allergies, colds, and obesity, as well as medications for epilepsy, acne, diabetes, hypertension, diarrhea, nausea, psychotic disorders, urinary incontinence, asthma (some bronchodilators), and Parkinson’s disease, frequently cause dry mouth as a side effect. Sedatives and muscle relaxants may also cause dry mouth as a side effect.

adverse reaction to specific illnesses and infections. Many illnesses, such as Sjögren’s syndrome, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, anemia, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and the mumps, can cause dry mouth as a side effect.

adverse reaction to certain medicinal interventions. Saliva production can be decreased by injury to the glands that create saliva, known as the salivary glands. For instance, cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy to the head and neck may be to blame for the damage.

harm to nerves. An accident or surgical incision to the head and neck region may cause nerve damage, leading to dry mouth.

dryness of the body. Dry mouth can result from dehydration-causing conditions such fever, heavy perspiration, vomiting, diarrhea, blood loss, and burns.

The salivary glands are surgically removed.

way of life. Chewing or smoking tobacco can exacerbate dry mouth and reduce saliva production. Frequently breathing with your mouth open might exacerbate the issue as well.

What Do Dry Mouth Symptoms Involve?

Typical signs and symptoms include of:

a dry, sticky sensation in the mouth

recurring thirst

mouth sores; cracked lips; sores or torn skin at the corners of the mouth

a parched sensation in the throat

a tingling or burning feeling in the mouth, particularly on the tongue

A rough, red, and dry tongue

difficulties speaking or with eating, taste, or swallowing

Dry nasal passages, painful throat, and hoarseness

bad breath

What Makes Dry Mouth an Issue?

Dry mouth not only produces the symptoms listed above, but it also increases your risk of tooth decay, gingivitis, and oral infections like thrush.

Denture wear may also be hampered by dry mouth.

How Can I Get Rid of Dry Mouth?

The cause of the issue determines how to treat dry mouth. Typically, three areas are the focus of treatment:

Taking care of other medical issues

Keeping teeth from decaying

if feasible, increasing the salivary flow

Tackling Dry Mouth Causes

Speak with your doctor if you believe that a drug you’re taking is the cause of your dry mouth. Your doctor could change the medication you’re taking or your dosage to avoid dry lips.

However, treatment will concentrate on methods to enhance saliva flow if the underlying medical condition causing the dry mouth cannot be altered. Examples of such conditions include injury to the salivary gland or diseases like Sjögren’s syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, and stroke.

Avoiding Dry Mouth-Related Tooth Decay

Saliva is the body’s natural mouth cleaner in addition to aiding in digestion and enabling chewing and swallowing. Gum disease and tooth decay are more common when saliva is absent. If you suffer from dry mouth, you must take additional care to maintain appropriate oral hygiene practices to prevent gum disease and tooth decay. These practices include:

brushing your teeth before going to bed, after every meal, and at least twice a day (but preferably more frequently)

Regularly flossing your teeth

Using fluoride-containing toothpaste

Getting your teeth cleaned and examined by a dentist at least twice a year; to maintain the health of your teeth, your dentist could advise using a fluoride gel or rinse every day.

Increasing Saliva Flow in Case of Dry Mouth

Your doctor could also recommend an oral rinse to moisturise your mouth if you have dry mouth. These products are available as a spray or rinse over-the-counter. Ask your doctor or dentist about mouthwashes, moisturizing gels, and toothpastes specifically designed for dry mouth. If it is ineffective, they could recommend Salagen, a drug that increases salivary flow. FDA-approved Evoxac is another prescription medication used to treat dry mouth in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune illness associated with dry eyes, dry mouth, dry skin, and sore muscles.

Lastly, research is being done on potential novel medicines. In addition to creating an artificial salivary gland that may be inserted into the body, scientists are attempting to restore damaged salivary glands.

How Can I Take Care of My Dry Mouth?

Try these additional measures as well, since they could aid in enhancing salivary flow:

Chew sugar-free gum or suckers (preferably xylitol-containing ones). Steer clear of acidic foods like lemons, which can erode teeth. Eat sugar-free ice pops or chips. Chewing ice can lead to tooth damage, therefore avoid doing so. These chewing and sucking motions aid in promoting salivary flow. However, bear in mind that gum, ice pops, and sweets may weaken the enamel on your teeth even though they don’t include sugar. Use them sparingly to lower the risk of cavities and tooth damage.

To help keep your mouth moist and break up mucus, drink a lot of water. Keep water near your bed at night and carry water with you to sip during the day.

Use a fluoride rinse, brush with fluoridated toothpaste, and schedule routine dental checkups. Steer clear of commercial mouthwashes and rinses that contain peroxide or alcohol. Your tongue will get even more parched from these components.

As much as you can, breathe through your nose rather than your mouth.

For bedroom air that needs more moisture, use a room vaporizer.

Use an artificial saliva substitute available over-the-counter.

Use sauces, gravies, creams, broths, soups, butter, or margarine to moisten meals. Consume chilled, room temperature or soft, wet meals.

Steer clear of salty meals, high-sugar foods and drinks, and dry foods (such as crackers, toast, cookies, dry breads, dry meats, poultry, and fish, dried fruit, and bananas).

Steer clear of alcoholic or caffeine-containing beverages (such as coffees, teas, certain colas, and drinks with chocolate). Alcohol causes frequent urination, which increases water loss. Both alcohol and caffeine cause oral dryness. Additionally, stay away from acidic drinks like tomato juice and any fruit juice (grape, orange, apple, grape, or grapefruit).