Treatment Advice For All Your Health Problems

Do you suffer with a dry mouth? It's one of the most distressing symptoms you can imagine - all the more so because others are likely to either trivialise it or not even realise the struggle you are having with it. This page discusses the basics of dry mouth so read on - or skip to the bottom where you can find links to other pages on related topics.

Like all things in health there are grades of severity. Some people suffer mild and intermittent dryness - others have permanent complete loss of moisture from the mouth with associated ulcers, infection and teeth problems.

The medical name for complete loss of mosture from the mouth is xerostomia. 

Other names used in common speech include cotton mouth (because it feels like your mouth is full of cotton wool), dough mouth or drooth. Drooth is an old Scots word meaning thirst.

A large number of conditions can lead to the mouth becoming too dry - some temporary - some permanent but they all lead to the same problems inside the mouth. The lack of moisture triggers a failure in the gums to fight infection and also triggers lasting and progressing damage to the enamel of the teeth. It makes it hard to eat and hard to speak properly. Those who have it develop bad breath or halitosis and quite quickly end up with multiple dental cavities and badly damaged teeth.

What causes dry mouth?

At it's most simple level the problem of dry mouth arises due to an imbalance in saliva production. You either don't make enough of it ... or you use it up or lose it from your mouth too quickly. Some people are unlucky enough to have both problems at once. 

Lack of salivation

Not producing enough saliva can be triggered by any of the following conditions - although this list is not exhaustive, there are other causes too:

** Sjogrens syndrome - an autoimmune triggered mouth problem sometimes found on it's own or sometimes tied in with conditions like rheumatoid arthritis

** Poorly controlled diabetes - excessive thirst is a symptom of diabetes

** Medications - you could write a whole website on the medications that can cause a dry mouth but the common ones include painkillers containing opiates, drugs for depression, amphetamines, antihistamines, drugs for bladder problems, drugs for depression and some blood pressure treatment medications. 

** Anxiety - high levels of anxiety or stress will trigger dryness in the mouth

** Excess smoking - particularly cannabis

** Excess alcohol

** Saliva gland damage due to previous injury or surgery

** Severe dehydration due to illness, kidney problems or lack of fluid intake

** Radiation damage after previous cancer treatment by radiotherapy

** Cancer chemotherapy can often trigger stomatitis or mucositis - leaving the glands that produce saliva damaged and causing ongoing mouth problems

Loss of saliva

Loss of the normal saliva can cause dry mouth in conditions like Bells Palsy (facial nerve palsy) where the saliva drools from the corner of the mouth. An excess of air flow through the mouth instead of the nose is also a common problem and this is often seen in those who breath mostly through the mouth when they sleep - leading to a dry mouth first thing in the morning. People with a chronic blocked nose who snore a lot often experience this problem.

Does getting older cause a dry mouth?

You might have noticed that I've left the effect of ageing off the list above. This is deliberate. It's a bit of a myth that simply getting older causes you to have less saliva and more of a dry mouth.

There is a connection between older age and dry mouth but the connection is mostly through the fact that older people tend to take more medications or have more health issues than younger people. Just getting a bit older does not itself lead to dryness in the mouth. It's never appropriate simply to put mouth dryness down to old age - and it's very important that your doctor or dentist takes the time to look a bit deeper into the situation for you.

Treatment for dry mouth

It sounds a bit glib and a bit too obvious to say that the main issue in treating a dry mouth is to find the underlying cause and then address that if you can.

Sometimes it's not possible to find the trigger - and sometimes the trigger itself will be permanent and not treatable. In this situation the main thing is to use regular oral lubrication or artificial saliva - aiming to keep the mouth moist at all times. Good dental care and good oral hygiene is also crucial as infection is more likely to happen in a dry mouth and will simply make the situation even worse. 

Try to drink regular amounts of tap water - not fizzy water.

Try to stop or reduce the dose of any medications that might be triggering things. 

Use a saliva replacement regularly as a spray or a mouthwash.

Attend your dentist much more often than before.

Need more help? Visit "Mouthing Off" - our discussion forum covering questions and answers about all things related to sore mouth, sore tongue and dry mouth.