{"id":5483,"date":"2025-01-01T22:58:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T21:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/?p=5483"},"modified":"2026-10-22T11:06:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T09:06:26","slug":"dry-mouth-causes-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/tips\/dry-mouth-causes-treatment\/","title":{"rendered":"Dry mouth: what it is and how to treat it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dry mouth<\/strong>, or xerostomia, is a reduction in the saliva your body needs to keep the mouth moist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have all had a dry mouth at some point, especially when feeling nervous, tense or upset. But if your mouth feels dry much of the time, it becomes uncomfortable, can be a health problem or may be a warning sign of something more serious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This happens because saliva doesn&#8217;t just keep the mouth moist: it also helps digest food, protects teeth from decay, prevents infections by controlling the amount of bacteria in the mouth, and makes chewing and swallowing possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is less saliva produced?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are several reasons why the salivary glands may not work properly and therefore produce less saliva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Side effects of medication.<\/strong> More than 400 medicines can cause dry mouth, including painkillers, decongestants, diuretics, antihistamines, antidepressants\u2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Illnesses.<\/strong> Some, such as diabetes, Parkinson\u2019s disease and Sj\u00f6gren\u2019s syndrome, damage the salivary glands and, by reducing saliva production, cause dryness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Radiotherapy.<\/strong> When radiotherapy is given to the head or neck to treat cancer, the salivary glands can be damaged by the radiation. Saliva may be lost partially or completely, temporarily or permanently.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chemotherapy.<\/strong> This treatment can make saliva thicker, which leads to dryness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Smoking.<\/strong> Many smokers have been shown to suffer from dry mouth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Menopause.<\/strong> Hormonal changes also affect the salivary glands. It is common for women going through or past the menopause to have a constant feeling of dryness in the mouth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Symptoms of dry mouth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A sticky, pasty feeling in the mouth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Difficulty swallowing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A burning sensation in the mouth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dry tongue.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A dry throat.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cracked lips.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduced sense of taste or a persistent metallic taste.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gum irritation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>More tooth decay.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mouth sores.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/tips\/bad-breath-how-to-prevent\/\">Bad breath<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Problems speaking and chewing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to treat dry mouth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is only one way to cure dry mouth: by treating whatever is causing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it is due to certain medicines, your doctor will need to change the medication or the dose. If the salivary glands are not working properly but still produce some saliva, your doctor may prescribe a medicine to help them work better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the cause can&#8217;t be removed, there are other ways to keep your mouth moist. Your dentist may recommend saliva substitutes, and mouthwashes specially formulated for dry mouth can also ease the discomfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other <strong>recommendations<\/strong> are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Drink water often, or other sugar-free drinks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid coffee, tea or fizzy drinks that may dry your mouth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chew sugar-free gum or suck sugar-free hard sweets to stimulate saliva flow when the salivary glands still have some function.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don\u2019t smoke or drink alcohol.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid salty or spicy food, as it can be painful when your mouth is dry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use a humidifier at night.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If your mouth often feels dry, don\u2019t ignore it: at Cl\u00ednica Dental Acosta Cubero we will check your mouth, help you prevent its consequences, such as tooth decay, and advise you on any <a href=\"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/treatments\/\">dental treatments<\/a> you may need. <a href=\"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/book-your-appointment\/\">Book your appointment<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dry mouth, or xerostomia, is a reduction in the saliva your body needs to keep the mouth moist. We have all had a dry mouth at some point, especially when feeling nervous, tense or upset. But if your mouth feels dry much of the time, it becomes uncomfortable, can be a health problem or may [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5483"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5486,"href":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5483\/revisions\/5486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acostacubero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}