Dry mouth: the most important information
Dry mouth is a worrying phenomenon, which can greatly affect the quality of life. What are the causes, symptoms and suggested treatments for dry mouth?
Dry mouth: the most important information
Tips for dealing with dry mouth.
Dry mouth is a phenomenon that occurs when the mouth produces little or no saliva, and this problem is annoying because saliva plays an important role in the taste of food and drink and the digestion of food, and is responsible for washing food particles from the teeth and balancing the degree of acidity in the mouth and moisturizing it.
dry mouth symptoms
Dry mouth has many annoying symptoms such as:
feeling thirsty
Dry skin around the mouth due to lack of saliva.
Chapped and cracked lips.
Wounds on the edges of the mouth.
roughness and dryness of the tongue
Difficulty in swallowing and speaking due to the lack of emollient substances produced by saliva.
Bad breath.
Dry mouth causes
There are many factors behind dry mouth, including:
1- Medicines
More than 600 types of medications cause dry mouth, including over-the-counter medications such as allergy or cold medications, as well as many prescription medications for high blood pressure, irritable bladder syndrome and psychiatric problems.
2- Some treatments
Dry mouth can be caused by some medical treatments such as radiation therapy against certain types of cancer that may damage the saliva-producing glands.
Chemotherapy also causes a feeling of dry mouth.
3- Neurological damage
Dry mouth may be caused by nerve damage from a variety of causes, such as an injury to the head or neck.
Where some nerves transmit messages between the brain and the salivary glands, and if damaged, they lose the ability to send signals to the salivary glands to produce saliva.
The lack of saliva makes it difficult to taste food, because saliva carries food flavors to nerve cells distributed in the throat and mouth.
4- Medical conditions
Dry mouth can be caused by a medical condition known as Sjogren's syndrome.
It is an autoimmune disease, during which white blood lymphocytes attack the lacrimal and salivary glands in the body, resulting in dry eyes and dry mouth.
Dry mouth is also common among both diabetics and HIV patients.
5- Smoking
Smoking causes dry mouth.
Also, some habits that accompany the smoking process, such as drinking sources of caffeine and alcohol, cause dry mouth.
dry mouth treatment
Treatment depends on the cause of the dry mouth. If certain medications are the cause, your doctor will adjust the dose or change the medications that cause dry mouth.
The doctor may also recommend some products to moisten the mouth, which may include mouthwashes, artificial saliva or emollients to soften the mouth.
In the case of severe dry mouth, the doctor may do one of the following:
Prescribe drugs that stimulate saliva production.
Recommendations to protect and prevent cavities such as fluoride molds that are filled with fluoride and worn on the teeth at night. Your doctor may recommend a weekly chlorhexidine rinse to control cavities.
Tips for dealing with dry mouth
You should visit your dentist or family doctor to find out the cause of dry mouth. However, there are some self-care steps that can be taken to relieve dry mouth, including:
3. Use of dental floss: Be sure to clean the teeth with dental floss.
4. Drink water: Try to drink plenty of water to keep your mouth hydrated and avoid sugary, caffeinated or acidic drinks.
5. Avoid smoking and alcohol: Smoking may be the cause of dry mouth, so be sure to avoid it.
6. Chewing sugar-free gum Chewing sugar-free gum or sugar-free candy helps stimulate the flow of saliva.
7. Use of saliva substitutes: Saliva substitutes temporarily relieve the problem for some people.
8. Use a moisture mist: The mist diffuser device helps reduce symptoms of dry mouth.
9. Consult the doctor: The dentist must be informed of the medications that the patient is taking regularly, as this information helps in diagnosing the causes of the decrease in the amount of saliva and receiving appropriate treatment
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