What Dry Mouth Is And What You Can Do About It

Have you ever woken up and your mouth feels like a desert? How about you are thirsty and your mouth is just dry? If this happens only after working outside in the heat or after having one too many drinks, then the solution is just to drink more water. On the other hand, if this is happening to you more often, then you may have a condition called dry mouth.

What difference does it matter if my mouth is dry? A dry mouth will lead to health problems. Such as gum disease, tooth decay, sores in the mouth and possible infections of the mouth. These problems can occur because you do not have enough saliva or inadequate quality of salvia to wash away food debris and bacteria from the teeth and gums. The mouth is designed to be moist and when it is dry, the bacteria will stick to the cheeks, tongue and teeth where you can develop an infection of yeast in the mouth called Thrush, or the bacteria can inflame the gum tissue around the teeth to beginning the process of gum disease called Gingivitis. When gingivitis is left untreated, it will continue to worsen and cause periodontal disease which is where the bacteria has caused the bone around the teeth to be damaged. Finally, bacteria left on the teeth will start to eat away the teeth causing tooth decay or a cavity. Having a dry mouth can lead to several types of infections of the teeth, gums, and cheeks.

Dry mouth is characterized by having a sticky, dry feeling in the mouth or in the throat. Your tongue is dry, red, cracked, and raw with a feeling of burning or tingling sensation. You feel like you are needing to reach for something to drink all the time. These are some of the signs that you may have dry mouth.

What can cause dry mouth. There are a number of medical conditions. The main conditions that are associated with Dry mouth are Sjogren’s Syndrome, diabetes, anemia, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Furthermore, certain medications and medical treatments can cause dry mouth The list of medications is very long but a general list includes medication used to treat depression, anxiety, pain, allergies, and some decongestants.

Other causes of dry mouth can be dehydration, nerve damage to head and neck area from injury or surgeries. Lastly, your lifestyle can cause dry mouth. If you smoke or use chewing tobacco, these products can affect the amount and quality of your saliva. On the other hand, if you are amouth breather, you will dry your mouth even more.

First, we have to find the cause of the dry mouth. Then after we find the cause we start to find the correct solution for you. If the source of the problem is a medication, then talking with your doctor, he or she may adjust the dose or try a different medication for you to see if that corrects the problem. But if the source is a medical condition such as Sjogren’s, then options may include sucking on sugar-free candy or chewing sugar-free gum, drinking plenty of water, brushing with a fluoride toothpaste, use an over-the-counter artificial saliva substitute like Biotene. For more information please give me a call.

Best,
Ronald A. Murphy, DMD

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