Introduction

According to Iqaluit Dental Clinic, dry mouth can be annoying. However, it can become a serious issue if you ignore it. It simply means that your body isn’t creating enough saliva and there are a bunch of reasons behind it. Let’s check them out and figure out how you can treat dry mouth.

The Details

1. Dry mouth –

Also known as xerostomia, dry mouth is a sensation you’ll feel when you don’t have enough saliva in your mouth. Saliva is the fluid created by the salivary glands and dry mouth is a symptom of one of the many medical conditions, not a condition in itself.

Saliva is very important for your mouth since it prevents discomfort, bad breath, and problems with dentures and helps you to swallow food and speak properly. Dry mouth is more common in older adults and is usually caused by medications taken by them.

2. Causes of dry mouth –

Dry mouth may be caused due to several reasons. Let’s check them out:

• Radiation therapy – Usually for neck and head cancer.
• Medications – Those that are taken by older adults. Some of the known medications that cause dry mouth include antidepressant and antianxiety drugs, anticholinergics for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and overactive bladder, pain medicines and antihistamines, Parkinson’s disease medication, chemotherapy drugs and more.
• Dehydration – When your body is dehydrated it cannot create enough fluid for urination, sweat, or for making saliva.
• Medical conditions – Dry mouth may also be a symptom of serious conditions like stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.
• Mouth-breathing – Breathing through your mouth during nasal congestion.

3. Symptoms that accompany dry mouth –

Dry mouth is often accompanied by other symptoms and sometimes is directly responsible for those symptoms. For instance, dry mouth is both accompanied by and responsible for bad breath, sore throat, increased thirst, hoarseness and taste disorders. Serious symptoms that accompany dry mouth include joint pain, skin rashes, dry eyes and skin and tooth decay.

4. Treatments for dry mouth –

To treat dry mouth, you need to increase the production of saliva and manage underlying conditions causing dry mouth. If you frequently have a dry mouth, your healthcare provider might review the medications you take on a regular basis and swap them out with alternatives that don’t affect the flow of saliva.

For instance, your regular Sjogren’s syndrome medication may be replaced with Cevimeline, and you may be prescribed Pilocarpine to naturally increase your body’s saliva production. When you’re at home and want a quick solution for dry mouth, try chewing on sugar-free gums to stimulate saliva flow. You can also sip water frequently throughout the day and avoid bad habits like mouth-breathing.

Conclusion

Iqaluit Dental Clinic suggests that you stay hydrated, avoid mouth breathing and check if the medications you take are responsible for dry mouth. Apart from taking medications for fixing dry mouth, generic healthy practices like taking sips of water throughout the day and taking pills or medicines in the morning can fix it.