Xerostomia
All About Dry Mouth
Xerostomia happens when something causes your salivary glands to produce less saliva.
There are many symptoms that help to detect a dry mouth problem. These can vary from patient to patient but usually involve great difficulty in chewing, swallowing and even speaking.
Dry mouth causes include:
- Medication: The likelihood of experiencing dry mouth is increased when taking medication. Regarding depression and hypertension A common side effect of several medications is dry mouth.
- Mental stress: Tension, which is another cause of dry mouth, frequently follows stress. Depressive symptoms and rashes can also induce dry mouth.
- Maturity: Body movement changes with age. This, along with the consumption of various medications, causes dry mouth in the elderly.
- Oral Breathing: Another major cause of dry mouth is mouth breathing, especially during sleep. This happens mainly at night.
- Thirst: Dehydration and dry mouth often go hand in hand. One of the primary causes of dry mouth is dehydration.
- Neuropathy: Anerve injury is more likely to occur in cases of head or neck trauma. This holds true even in the event that you have undergone head surgery. Your salivary glands may stop working due to a nerve injury. Dry mouth is also influenced by this.
- Smoking: Although smoking is not a direct factor, it can exacerbate an existing dry mouth.
- Fever: Aside from the flu and diabetes, other medical disorders can also cause dry mouth. Numerous illnesses, including Alzheimer’s and HIV/AIDS, can cause dry mouth as a side effect.
- Another extremely typical sign of thyroid illness is a dry mouth.
RISKS:
A dry mouth increases the risk of tooth decay or fungal infections in the mouth.
TREATMENT:
- Medications: If a particular medication is thought to cause dry mouth, the doctor will either adjust the dosage or prescribe another drug that is less likely to cause dry mouth.
- Stimulating saliva production: A doctor may prescribe medication, such as pilocarpine (Salagen) or cevimeline (Evoxac), to stimulate the production of saliva.
