Tips to relieve and ease Dry Mouth

Tips to relieve and ease Dry Mouth

Woman in White Shirt Drinking Water from Clear Glass with Her Eyes Closed. Drinking water to ease dry mouth

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.