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What Causes Extreme Dry Mouth?

Dry mouth is a result of not producing an adequate amount of saliva. Xerostomia is the medical term for this condition. Dry mouth can result in sores at the corners of your mouth, cracked or split lips, breath odor, sore throat, difficulty speaking, and swallowing problems. It can also change your sense of taste, lead to a fungal infection or increase plaque on your teeth, resulting in periodontal disease and tooth decay. There are many causes of dry mouth that your doctor or dentist should be able to diagnose.

  1. Medication Side Effects

    • According to the Mayo Clinic, there are hundreds of medications with a side effect of dry mouth. Most common are depression and anxiety drugs, antihistamines and decongestants, anti-diarrhea medications, muscle relaxants, high blood pressure medications, and drugs for urinary incontinence and Parkinson's disease.

    Conditions of the Elderly

    • Aging alone does not result in dry mouth. However, older people tend to need the medications that can cause dry mouth, and it is reasonable to expect that they would probably have other age-related conditions that can lead to dry mouth.

    Disease Treatments

    • Chemotherapy drugs often affect the saliva and the quantity that is produced because of damage to healthy cells in the mouth. If you receive radiation to your neck or head, your salivary glands may be damaged, resulting in less saliva. Patients receiving hemodialysis may also have dry mouth because of restrictions on fluid intake.

    Nerve Damage

    • If you suffer an injury or have surgery to your head or neck, there is a risk of damage to the seventh cranial nerve which connects with the parotid gland. The parotid gland controls facial expressions and forehead movement, muscles of your neck and the salivary glands in the front of your mouth. This is the same nerve that, if damaged, can result in Bells Palsy.

    Disorders/Diseases

    • Some health conditions, along with the treatments for them, can cause dry mouth as one of their symptoms. These include Sjogren's syndrome, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, anxiety and depression disorders, bacterial and viral infections, HIV and AIDS. Mouth breathing and snoring may also cause dry mouth.

    Considerations

    • Both smoking tobacco and chewing tobacco, as well as the use of alcohol, can aggravate your already dry mouth.

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