Do you suffer from dry mouth? Can’t talk or eat? It can be incredibly annoying, even if you’ve only had it for a short time! About 10% of people and up to 25% of the elderly suffer from dry mouth.

Why does dry mouth happen?

A dry mouth occurs when you don’t make enough saliva, which is important for oral health. Saliva cleans the mouth, keeps it moist, and removes food. A lack of saliva can cause many problems including:

• Bad breath.
• Discomfort.
• Effect on oral hygiene and may cause tooth decay.
• Problems wearing dentures.
• Affects speech and swallowing.

Dry mouth causes

There are many underlying causes such as:

• A side effect of some medications, such as anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants, some antihistamines, decongestants, and some analgesics.
• Dehydration if you are sick or do not drink enough or even sweat a lot.
• Mouth breathing, which often occurs when the nose is congested.
• Having some diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and Sjogren’s syndrome.

A dry mouth is a symptom of a problem and not a disease in itself, so you will need to consult a doctor to find out the real cause.

Tips to relieve dry mouth

First, you must take care of the mouth and keep it clean. Brush your teeth twice a day and use Listerine mouthwash to help protect your teeth from decay. Chewing and sucking also help stimulate saliva secretion, the following will help

• Use sugar-free ice cubes or popsicles.
• Chewing sugar-free gum that contains xylitol.
• Drink water or other sugar-free fluids frequently throughout the day.
• Take Xylimelts, which will help you to increase saliva secretion.

It will also help you to:

• Moisten all dry foods using broth, sauces, or milk, to facilitate chewing and swallowing.
• Put the toothbrush in a cup of warm water so that it is gentler on your gums.

But try to avoid:

• Acidic, spicy, salty, dry, and sugary foods and drinks.
• Alcohol, caffeine, and soft drinks.
• Mouthwash with alcohol, which may cause your mouth to dry out even more.
• Smoking.

Finally, prevention tips

Some causes may indeed may be out of your control and you cannot control them, but you can control some, for example:

• Drink a lot of water. Try to drink about eight glasses of water daily.
• Breathe through your nose, not your mouth. If you suffer from nasal congestion, use Otosan nasal wash.
• Consult a pharmacist at Al thiqa pharmacy to find out if the OTC medicines you use are causing dry mouth, such as antihistamines and decongestants.
• Avoid caffeinated drinks, tobacco, and alcohol.