Dry mouth, or xerostomia, is a condition where the mouth feels dry and lacks saliva. Chronic dry mouth can cause tooth decay, bad breath, taste changes, and difficulty swallowing. It can be caused by medication, smoking, nerve damage, and underlying health conditions. Treatment depends on the cause and may include adjusting medication dosage or prescribing medication to stimulate saliva production.
Dry mouth, also called xerostomia, is a condition in which the mouth feels abnormally dry and lacks saliva. For most people, dry mouth occurs only occasionally, but in some people, its symptoms last. When a person has persistent symptoms of dry mouth, they are said to have chronic dry mouth. This condition is characterized by symptoms such as chapped lips, thick saliva, bad breath, taste changes and sore throat. Typically, this condition is treated by changing the dosage of the medication that caused it or by treating the underlying condition causing the problem; sometimes doctors also prescribe medications that help stimulate the body to produce more saliva.
Saliva may not seem like much of an issue, but its usefulness can become apparent when a person is dealing with chronic dry mouth. For starters, a person who has persistent dry mouth may be more prone to tooth decay. This is because saliva helps slow the growth and multiplication of bacteria in a person’s mouth. When a person has little saliva, tooth decay can be one of the unpleasant results. Saliva also influences the taste of food and also aids in the swallowing and digestion of food.
There are many symptoms a person can have when dealing with chronic dry mouth. In addition to a marked decrease in the amount of saliva in their mouth, a person with chronic dry mouth may notice that the saliva they have is thicker than normal and may even have a stringy texture. A person with this condition may also have chapped lips and bad breath. In many cases, a person with this condition experiences frequent sore throat symptoms and difficulty swallowing or even speaking. Fungal infections of the mouth and tooth decay may also develop more frequently when a person has chronic dry mouth.
Chronic dry mouth can develop for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it develops as a side effect of medications, such as those used to treat depression, allergies, and high blood pressure; chemotherapy drugs can also cause it. People who smoke cigarettes or have damaged nerves in the head or neck can sometimes suffer from this condition. In some cases, an underlying health condition, such as diabetes, may be to blame. Older people may be more likely to suffer from dry mouth, but this could be due to the medications they take to treat age-related health conditions.
Treatment for chronic dry mouth may depend on its causes. In some cases, changing the dosage of a medication or switching medications altogether may help. Sometimes treating the underlying health condition can provide relief. Doctors may also prescribe drugs that produce saliva in some cases.
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