Ask the Dental Experts

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Dry Mouth Symptoms, Causes, and Solutions

Dry mouth (Xerostomia) is the lack of saliva caused by a variety of medical conditions, behaviors, and medication side effects. It can alter the taste of food, cause plaque buildup, and increase the likelihood of gum disease and tooth decay. Saliva that is produced is often thick or stringy, causing the person to have a hard time swallowing. Dry mouth can cause sore throat and sores at the corners of the mouth that cause the skin to crack.

Healthy salivary glands are supposed to produce 3 pints of saliva daily. In addition to its obvious benefit of helping chew food and assist in digestion, saliva helps clean the surfaces of teeth and prevent plaque buildup. It also contains minerals that work against tooth decay by making it difficult for bacteria to attach themselves to teeth. Also, saliva is alkaline in nature and helps neutralize natural acids that can damage tissue in the mouth.

There are a number of causes for dry mouth. Age is one of them. Saliva production tends to naturally decrease as a person gets older. Other causes include side effects of prescription and over the counter medications. Anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication frequently cause dry mouth. Also, antihistamines, antidiuretics, muscle relaxers, and high blood pressure meds can produce this condition. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy have reported not only a decrease in the amount of saliva in their mouths, but also a change in its consistency as well.

Very often the presence of other health problems such as clinical depression, extreme anxiety that includes panic attacks, and uncontrolled diabetes can cause Xerostomia.

If you are experiencing the symptoms of dry mouth, you need to call our office and schedule an appointment with one of our dentists. He or she will need to study your case history, examine your mouth, and possibly schedule a cat scan on the salivary glands or a blood test. Your dentist will need to also know all medical conditions you face and know about all medications you are taking.

If any medication you are taking is causing dry mouth, it may be possible to switch to another medication or alter the dosage. There are also drugs that help produce saliva that the dentist can help prescribe.

In some cases, lifestyle changes can alleviate dry mouth symptoms. Reducing sugar intake, significantly reducing alcohol consumption (or eliminating it altogether), and quitting smoking often help with saliva production. Avoid illegal drugs, period, especially methamphetamines and marijuana. These last two are notorious for causing dry mouth.

Read more about dry mouth on our main website:

Dry Mouth Treatments
Dry Mouth Symptoms
Dry Mouth Complications
Xerostomia

Call our office to schedule an appointment as soon as you can if you have any symptoms of xerostomia. Also, start practicing good dental hygeine daily in the meantime. Oral hygiene is something that every person with dry mouth also needs to practice diligently. Daily brushing and flossing minimize the possibility of teeth becoming vulnerable to decay.

Labels: dental hygeine, dry mouth, dry mouth symptoms, dry mouth treatment, dry mouth treatments, oral hygeine, saliva, xerostomia, xerostomia causes and treatment

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Causes and Treatment Options for Xerostomia

Xerostomia, also known as dry mouth, cotton mouth, pasties, and dough mouth, is a condition that refers to a lack of saliva in the mouth. Xerostomia makes eating, swallowing, and even speaking difficult. It can cause a person to have bad breath, and it increases the chances of tooth decay. People suffering from Xerostomia need to seek medical treatment ASAP for a thorough teeth cleaning and checkup for gum disease. Corrective dentistry may be necessary, along with aggressive oral hygiene, to reverse the deterioration of tooth enamel that commonly results from Xerostomia.

Since there are so many causes of Xerostomia, treatments vary widely. Many cannot actually cure the condition, but they can offer relief from its symptoms. Many of these causes lie within the control of the person, because they are behavior related. Others however, are beyond the control of the individual and require professional care to manage the condition.

Alcohol and drugs can dehydrate tissues in the mouth and result in the loss of saliva production. In fact, the tendency of marijuana to do this led to the coining of the term cotton mouth. Methamphetamines also will cause Xerostomia and further complicate dry mouth with Bruxism by causing the jaws to clench. Smoking also dries out the mouth.

The easiest way to treat Xerostomia in these instances is to simply quit drinking, smoking, and using illegal substances.

Heavy athletic activity can also cause cases of Xerostomia. Salivary glands dry out when people breathe through their mouths instead of their noses. Also, when people exert themselves in the heat, their bodies redirect fluids normally used in the production of saliva to other parts of the body.

In most athletic activity, fluid replenishment and a conscious decision to avoid breathing through the nose can alleviate Xerostomia.

Anxiety increases the production of adrenalin. Adrenalin, in turn, affects a number of other vital and non-vital systems within the body, including the production of saliva. It is not uncommon for people who have panic attacks to also have dry mouth.

It can sometimes be very hard to treat anxiety-related Xerostomia because many anti-anxiety medications also cause dry mouth. Switching medication may be the solution. When this is not an option, salivary producing drugs may be prescribed.

Xerostomia can often result from diseases like poorly managed diabetes, clinical depression, Lambert-Eaton syndrome, and Sjögren's syndrome. There is no definitive cause and effect between these diseases and dry mouth, but enough clinical studies indicate there is a link between these diseases and dry mouth in many people. Treatment really depends on the person and his or her condition.

Xerostomia can result as a side effect of many types of medication. Anti-anxiety medication and anti-depressants can dry out the mouth. Antidiuretics can also cause dry mouth, and chemotherapy can actually change the nature, as well as the amount, of saliva. Prescription drugs can be used to treat a great number of these cases.

It is a good idea to always maintain good oral hygiene and seek regular dental cleaning. Avoid taking over the counter decongestants and antihistamines. Reduce your sugar intake as much as possible. While you should drink water for general health, it can only treat Xerostomia when it is caused by dehydration. Using water to treat dry mouth caused by something else only frustrates the situation. .

If you have dry mouth, our dentists can help you. Many times we prescribe medication for Xerostomia treatment. These include xylitol gum, a saliva substitute mouthwash, oxidized glycerol trimesters, and a drug called Aquoral.

Call our office at 713.795.5905 and see what we can do for you.

Labels: dry mouth, dry mouth treatment, xerostomia, xerostomia causes and treatment