Waking up with dry mouth is uncomfortable. Your tongue feels dirty, no matter how much water you drink, you still feel thirsty, and the inside of your mouth feels like you’ve been chewing on cotton.
The discomfort you feel with dry mouth is not imagined. There’s an actual medical term for this condition: xerostomia ; and it refers to reduced or absent saliva. While it may seem like a minor issue, it can cause other problems. Saliva is essential speak, to promote good oral health, and to taste and properly chew and digest food.
When the condition is more serious, a patient may experience the following issues:
– Difficulty speaking
– Dry, chapped lips
– Sore throat
– Bad breath
– Coughing fits
– Mouth sores or ulcers
– Tooth decay
Dry mouth is more prevalent in senior citizens. However, it’s also a common side effect of certain prescription medications such as muscle relaxers, blood pressure meds, antihistamines, and antidepressants.
Additional possible contributors:
– Dehydration
– Smoking
– Cancer treatments
– Lupus
– Diabetes
– Bulimia
– HIV
– Excessive drinking
– Drug use
As for less serious reasons, some women may also be experiencing xerostomia during pregnancy.
Dry mouth treatment will greatly depend on what’s causing it:
1. Switch medications. If the condition is a side effect of a prescribed medication, the best course of action would be to talk to your doctor about discontinuing it and trying something different. Depending on any underlying illness, this may not be the most practical solution.
2. Buy over the counter saliva substitutes. Ask your doctor for the best brand, especially if you’re suffering from an underlying illness.
3. Avoid triggers. Due to their addictive components, smoking, drugs and excessive drinking may be harder to avoid for a person who suffers from alcoholism, drug abuse, or tobacco dependence. It’s crucial to find a support network that can help a patient deal with these conditions.
4. Stay hydrated. Whether by sipping water regularly throughout the day or by sucking on ice chips, these practices will help keep the mouth moist, at least while awake. Staying hydrated also means limiting caffeine intake.
5. Switch mouthwash. Read the ingredients in your mouthwash. Opt for brands that don’t contain alcohol, since alcohol can leave your mouth feeling even more dry.
6. Add a humidifier to your bedroom. Doing so will help promote a more moist environment for your mouth and respiratory system while you sleep.
7. Suck on lozenges. Doing so will help promote saliva production. If you have a sweet tooth, you can substitute them for sugar-free hard candy. Consuming sugar covers your teeth with a film that when not removed, causes plaque. A patient with dry mouth doesn’t produce enough saliva to combat that type of bacteria.
8. Visit your dentist regularly. Since the likelihood of tooth decay is substantially increased in dry mouth patients, visiting a dentist regularly will address oral health issues and nip them in the bud.
At Impeccable Smiles, we understand that going to the dentist can make people anxious. However, one of our top priorities is to making our patients feel welcome and comfortable.
Contact us today , and let us help you!
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