What Can Help Dry Mouth?

Dry mouth can make your mouth feel like a desert landscape. Technically called xerostomia, the condition has many causes, from caffeine to side effects from various medications. But there are also a number of ways to treat it. As an added bonus, many of the treatments are easy, inexpensive and can be completed with things already in your home.

Sucking

• Fruit pits and hard candy help stimulate the salivary glands. Pits from peaches, nectarines and cherries can do the trick. Make sure the hard candy is sugarless so you don't get tooth decay. Sugar has a field day creating cavities in a dry mouth.

Chewing

• Popping a piece of sugarless gum into your mouth can greatly reduce dry mouth. Like the fruit pits and hard candy, the gum stimulates saliva.

Eating

• Mushy, soft foods help stimulate the salivary glands. All foods lead to an increase of saliva, but those that are soft and easy to eat give you the best results against dry mouth. Other good choices are foods covered in gravy and sauce.

Humidifying

• Adding moisture to the air can help combat dry mouth as well. You can use a cool-air vaporizer. Breathing out of your nose, rather than your mouth, also cuts down on the amount of saliva that evaporates.

Avoiding

• Soda, coffee and other caffeinated beverages can dehydrate the body and dry out the mouth. Drink them sparingly and try to balance them out with a glass or two of water.