Everything You Need to Know About Dry Mouth
The human body produces saliva, a natural substance made of a mixture of water, mucous, salt, and proteins that is constantly present in the mouth.
Saliva serves a number of purposes. It moistens the mouth to make speaking easier and eating more enjoyable, it helps with digestion, reduces infections in the mouth and throat, and rinses away food and bacteria from the teeth.
What is dry mouth?
When a person experiences a lack of saliva flow, or their body stops producing saliva and delivering it into the mouth when a person starts eating, they have developed a condition called dry mouth.
What causes dry mouth?
Dry mouth can be caused by a number of factors.
For many, it is a side effect of prescription medications. The most common prescriptions that are known to cause dry mouth are antihistamines, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, decongestants, sedatives, and drugs used to treat cardiovascular disease.
Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can also cause dry mouth.
As a person ages, they tend to require more prescription medications, which increases the likelihood that they’ll experience dry mouth.
Dry mouth is also a common side effect of smoking or ingesting marijuana, and can be a symptom of more serious medical conditions like Sjogren’s Syndrome, connective tissue diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis or Lupus, Type 1 Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, or Cystic Fibrosis.
It can also simply be caused by deficiencies in Vitamin A or Riboflavin.
What can I do about dry mouth?
If you’re experiencing dry mouth, it’s important to consult with a healthcare professional to determine what is causing the problem. Sometimes the underlying issue can be treated and the dry mouth can be remedied. There are also medications that can be prescribed that have been successful at stimulating the salivary glands to produce more saliva.
In other cases where the dry mouth is caused by a medication side effect and you need to continue taking that medication, it’s very important to help the body mimic the tasks usually taken care of by natural saliva. The easiest way to do this is to drink a lot of water and eat a lot of foods that are low in sugar and acids and contain a lot of water.
By doing this, you can help flush out the mouth, keep sugars, acids and bacterias away from the teeth, and keep the mouth lubricated to make eating, speaking and chewing more comfortable.
If you are experiencing dry mouth and would like to speak to a dental professional in South London, call our team at Highland Woods Dentistry to schedule an appointment today. We’ll bring you in for a checkup to assess the current state of your oral health, ensure that your dry mouth has not caused any damage, and work with you to develop an oral care routine that will help you maintain a healthy smile for many years to come.