What Should You Do If Your Mouth Feels Dry?

What Should You Do If Your Mouth Feels Dry?

May 01, 2023

If your mouth feels dry, the optimal way of treating the problem medically, known as xerostomia, hinges on the underlying reason for the problem. You can adopt some measures for temporary relief from your dry mouth. However, if you want a long-term remedy, you must address its underlying problem.

For relief from a dry mouth, you can use various remedies from the comfort of your home or discuss the issue with your doctor or family dentist because they can provide suitable therapy to help alleviate the problem.

Is It True That Deficiencies Can Cause a Dry Mouth?

If you take medications for deficiencies, they are the most common reasons for a dry mouth. When seeking long-term relief from xerostomia, you may be required to stop taking the medications or discuss changing them with your doctor with its dosage and addressing underlying health problems.

The adverse effects of certain infections or diseases, including Alzheimer’s, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s, stroke, and mumps, can also cause dry mouth. Besides the above nerve damage, the head to the neck area from injuries or surgery also causes xerostomia to reduce saliva production in the mouth to dry it.

Can Stress Cause Dry Mouth?

Stress results from hypertension, for which you receive medications to control your blood pressure. The medicines can result in dry mouth, besides other lifestyle habits like smoking or chewing tobacco that affect saliva production and aggravate your mouth. Breathing through your mouth also contributes to the problem.

Symptoms of Dry Mouth

Some familiar symptoms of dry mouth include a sticky and dry feeling in the mouth, frequent thirst, mouth sores splitting the skin in the mouth corner, and cracked lips besides a dry feeling in the throat, burning or tingling sensation in the mouth, especially on the tongue, dry and red tongue, dry nasal passages, sore throat and hoarseness accompanied by a lousy breath.

Why Is Dry Mouth a Concern?

While dry mouth causes the symptoms mentioned above, the condition also increases your risk of tooth decay, gum disease, and mouth infections like thrush. A dry mouth also makes it challenging for you to wear dentures. If you leave the condition untreated and do not maintain appropriate dental hygiene, you may soon require treatments from an emergency dentist for the conditions described earlier.

Treatment for Dry Mouth

Treatment for xerostomia depends on the cause of the problem. Generally, the treatment focuses on managing your medical conditions, preventing tooth decay, and increasing saliva flow if possible.

If you have a dry mouth because of stress, you can discuss the problem with your doctor because it might result from the medications you take to manage it. Your doctor may suggest switching to another drug that may not cause a dry mouth. Unfortunately, the treatment will focus on increasing saliva flow if the medicines causing the dry mouth cannot be changed.

How to Prevent Tooth Decay from Xerostomia?

Besides helping you digest food and making it possible to swallow, saliva also works as a natural mouth cleanser. Tooth decay and periodontal disease are more likely if you have decreased saliva flow. If a dry mouth causing tooth decay requires help from the dental clinic in Bolton, you can prevent the condition by following healthy oral hygiene practices by brushing your teeth twice daily or more often after meals and before bedtime. You must use fluoridated toothpaste and dental floss daily to clean your teeth. Meeting your dentist for twice-yearly checkups and cleanings is also essential. You may receive a recommendation from your dentist to use a fluoride rinse or gel to keep your teeth healthy.

Increasing Saliva Flow with a Dry Mouth

If you think your mouth feels dry and visit the Bolton dentist, they may prescribe an oral rinse or spray to restore your mouth moisture. You can also find toothpaste, moisturizing gels and mouthwashes created explicitly for dry mouth. However, it would help to ask your dentist whether you can use OTC products before purchasing them. If OTC products aren’t helpful, you may receive a prescription medication to boost saliva production.

Home Remedies to Prevent Dry Mouth

You can suck on sugar-free candy or use sugar-free gum with xylitol, besides drinking plenty of water to keep your mouth hydrated. Consider using an OTC artificial saliva substitute and avoid salty and dry foods besides alcoholic drinks and caffeine because they can aggravate dry mouth.

If you think your mouth feels dry, pay attention to the problem and seek help from South Hill Dental, offering remedies to overcome the issue. Arrange a meeting with them today to get over an issue that can cause various complications in your mouth if left untreated.

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