Smiles Better - Dry Mouth

Dry Mouth

A dry mouth means you do not have enough saliva to keep your mouth moist. Everyone has experienced a dry mouth once in a while especially if you are nervous, upset or under stress. However, if you suffer with a dry mouth all or most of the time, it can be uncomfortable making eating and speaking very difficult. Saliva is very important in the chewing and swallowing of food and it also protects the teeth as saliva neutralises the sugar acids that cause decay.

The salivary glands may not function properly leading to a reduced salivary flow for a variety of reasons, such as:
• Side effects of some medications – over 400 medicines can cause dry mouth including antihistamines, decongestants, pain killers, diuretics and medicines for high blood pressure and depression
• Diseases that affect the salivary glands, include diabetes, Hodgkin’s, Parkinson’s disease, HIV/AIDS and Sjogren’s syndrome and may lead to dry mouth.
• Radiation therapy. The salivary glands can be damaged if your head or neck is radiated during cancer treatment. The loss of saliva can be total or partial, permanent or temporary.
• Chemotherapy. Drugs used to treat cancer can make saliva thicker causing the mouth to feel dry.
• Menopause. Changing hormone levels affect the salivary glands, often leaving most post-menopausal women with a persistent feeling of dry mouth.
• Smoking. Many pipe, cigar and heavy cigarette smokers experience a dry mouth.
• Blocked salivary glands eg. Calculus (tartar) in the duct

How do I Know if I have Dry Mouth?

Everyone’s mouth feels dry from time to time. It is when this feeling does not go away that you have a problem with salivary production. Symptoms of dry mouth include:
• A sticky, dry feeling in your mouth
• Trouble swallowing
• A burning sensation on your tongue
• A dry feeling in your throat
• Cracked lips
• Reduced ability to taste things or a metallic taste in your mouth
• Mouth sores
• Frequent bad breath
• Difficulty chewing and speaking

How is Dry Mouth treated?

The only permanent way to cure dry mouth is to treat its cause. If your dry mouth is the result of medication your doctor may change you prescription or your dosage. If your salivary glands are not working properly but you still produce some saliva, your doctor may give you a medicine that helps the glands to work better.

If the cause of your dry mouth cannot be eliminated, or until it can be, your dentist can recommend specially formulated saliva substitutes whether in gel or mouth rinse form, that can greatly relief the problems associated with a dry mouth. You can also:
• Sip water or sugarless drinks often
• Avoid drinks with caffeine, such as coffee, tea and some sodas
• Chew sugarless gum or suck on sugarless boiled sweets (but only if some salivary gland function exists)
• Do not use tobacco or alcohol
• Be aware that spicy or salty foods can cause pain in a dry mouth
• Use a humidifier at night

Site designed by System 3 Business Solutions. Content by Mandy Rawson.


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