Does your mouth feel like a desert scavenging for every drop of water? Yes, we know dry mouth is no fun and is annoying. However, it’s not an official diagnosable condition; rather, it’s a common symptom of many disorders. Hence, what’s a dry mouth and its causes. Furthermore, we will also discuss a few home remedies to treat dry mouth in your house.
What’s Dry Mouth And Its Causes:
Dry mouth occurs when your salivary glands start to act out, and the saliva production ramps down. Thus, with low saliva, the mouth feels extremely dry. Low saliva production hinders many day-to-day functions such as digestion. Besides that, saliva also contains some teeth protective enzymes, so reduced saliva means a lack of protection. Thus, your teeth might be left a bit vulnerable to plaque buildup and cavities.
Causes:
As A Side Effect: Dry mouth is a common side effect of many medicines. The use of either recreational and medical drugs can lead to dry mouth. In fact, 90% of the time, dry mouth is caused by drug use. Therefore, you can discuss and revise your prescription with a doctor. Here are a few types of drugs that can direct the presence of dry mouth.
- Antihistamine.
- Anti-depressant.
- Blood pressure pills.
Nasal Obstruction Or Breathing Through Your Mouth: Obstruction in nasal airways due to allergies or some other causes can restrict airflow. Thus, we make up for that blockade by breathing through our mouths. Although this will get oxygen to the lungs, it also leaves our mouth dry.
Indicator Of Another Condition: A few disorders share the same symptom of dry mouth. Here is a list of a few of them:
- Diabetes.
- Nerve Damage.
- Oral Thrush.
- Auto-immune diseases.
- Stroke.
Home Remedies For Dry Mouth:
Here are a few home remedies to make your dry mouth more tolerable.
Drink More Water: Staying hydrated will help you with your dry mouth because dehydration can be the reason behind your dry mouth. Moreover, it can help boost up your faltering saliva production. Therefore, make sure you meet the daily water intake guidelines.
Chew Sugar-Free Gum: Continuous chewing stimulates the saliva production in your mouth. Hence, chewing down on sugar-free gum will surely help with your dry mouth. Moreover, some gums also contain xylitol that amps up saliva production.
Quit Smoking: Smoke is dry and hot, so its presence in your mouth will soak away any moisture your mouth has. Thus, try to quit smoking, and you will notice an improvement in the dryness of your mouth.
Avoid Alcohol And Alcohol Mouthwash: Alcohol can also cause dehydration. Hence, when you feel your mouth has dried, drink water instead of alcohol. Similarly, avoid using alcoholic mouthwashes. However, use mouthwashes with xylitol to help in the simulation of salivary glands.
Breathe Through Your Nose: Try to avoid breathing through your mouth. Instead, use your nose for this purpose. Consciously controlling your breathing route will help limit the dryness in your mouth.
However, while you try all these home remedies for your dry mouth, give your dentist a visit and discuss what’s troubling you. Brenham Family Dental is here to help; you can call us at 979-421-9685 for more inquiries.