Causes of dry mouth

The article was professionally consulted with Specialist Doctor II Nguyen Van Thai - Ear, Nose Throat Doctor - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital.

Dry mouth is a condition in which there is a sudden decrease in the amount of saliva in the mouth, causing discomfort. Common symptoms of dry mouth are: dry mucous membranes of the mouth and throat, bad breath, sticky saliva, frequent feeling of thirst, decreased taste for foods.
Dry mouth poses many risks to oral health and general health. With dry mouth, the patient will have an increased risk of mouth sores, tooth decay, fungal infections in the mouth, cracked lips, and sores in the corners of the mouth. Because dry mouth will make it difficult to eat, the patient is at risk of malnutrition.

Dry mouth is not a disease but a symptom of a disease or a manifestation of a health problem that a patient is having. There are many causes of dry mouth, the most common causes of dry mouth can be listed as:
● Side effects of medications: many medications can cause dry mouth, such as antihistamines. ; antidepressant, anxiety medication; some anti-nasal drugs, pain relievers, muscle relaxants,...
● Cancer treatment: some chemotherapy drugs can affect the salivary glands, causing decreased secretion, after treatment, function Salivary glands may return to normal. When treating head and neck cancer with radiation therapy, the salivary glands can be damaged temporarily or permanently.
● Patients with certain diseases such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, cystic fibrosis, mumps,... Sjogren's syndrome is a disorder of the immune system, In which, immune cells will damage the tear and salivary glands, causing dry eyes and dry mouth.
● Nerve damage to the head and neck area, trauma to the head and neck area, or injury to the head and neck area from surgery can all cause dry mouth.
● Tobacco use: The chemicals in tobacco can cause dry mouth, especially nighttime dryness.
● The elderly have a high rate of dry mouth, which may be due to the habit of less water intake or because the elderly often suffer from many diseases at the same time, using many drugs to treat, so the risk of dry mouth will be higher.
● Pregnant or menopausal women, the hormones in the body have great changes.
● Snoring while sleeping, habit of breathing through the mouth or stuffy nose, so you have to breathe through your mouth.

There are many ways that can help improve dry mouth. Some simple remedies for dry mouth patients can apply at home such as:
● Drink plenty of water to provide enough water for the body and maintain saliva production. In addition to drinking water, you should increase your intake of fruits with a lot of water, and eat liquid foods such as porridge and soup. During meals, can be taken with water or milk to make chewing and swallowing easier. Limit alcohol, caffeinated foods, sweets, sugar, acidic foods, spicy or too salty foods
● Maintain oral hygiene by brushing teeth after each meal, flossing to clean. Use sugar-free gum to clean your mouth and stimulate saliva production. Lemon can be rubbed on the tongue to clean the tongue, limit bad breath and help increase saliva production. Use moisturizing products such as vaseline, coconut oil to treat dry, chapped lips
● Breathe through your nose to prevent dry mouth caused by mouth breathing. Increase the humidity in the bedroom by placing a basin of water in the room or using a humidifier
● Treat snoring at night if snoring is the cause of dry mouth.

If dry mouth is getting worse, home remedies do not help improve, quality of life is affected, health declines. Patients need to see a doctor to seek help from a doctor. Depending on the cause of dry mouth in each case, the doctor can choose methods to cure dry mouth such as:
If the cause of dry mouth is due to a side effect of medication, the doctor may consider adjusting medication or change to another medicine that has the same effect but does not cause dry mouth
Treat medical conditions that are causing dry mouth
If dry mouth is severe, your doctor may prescribe medications salivary stimulants such as pilocarpine, cevimeline or a saliva substitute containing carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, etc.
● Have the patient wear a fluoride tray for a few minutes at night or use chlorhexidine weekly to prevent tooth decay.
Dry mouth is a very common phenomenon in many people. Hopefully, the above article has helped you understand the causes of dry mouth and methods to cure dry mouth, so that you can have appropriate treatment when you or your family members have the above symptoms.
BSCK II Nguyen Van Thai was formerly a Doctor of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at the Department of Otolaryngology - Hue Central Hospital with more than 17 years of treatment experience, especially in the field of Head and Neck Surgery. Currently, he is an Otolaryngologist at the Inter-Specialist Clinic of the Department of Medical Examination and Internal Medicine, Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital.