Solutions for Xerostomia

Xerostomia, or dry mouth, is a condition in which a person is not able to produce sufficient amounts of saliva. The mouth may be so dry that the patient may have difficulty swallowing food or is unable to spit. Xerostomia may be caused by medications, cancer, radiation therapy affecting salivary glands, Parkinson's disease, cystic fibrosis, HIV, Bell's palsy, nerve damage, aging and auto-immune disease. Left untreated, xerostomia may lead to cavities, gum disease or tooth loss.

Prevention of Xerostomia

• Xerostomia can not only be treated but may also be prevented. Many prescription and over-the-counter drugs can cause dry mouth. Antihistamines and allergy medications, methamphetamine, diuretics, antidepressants, sedatives, antipsychotics and certain herbal products may decrease saliva production. Consult your doctor concerning alternatives to these medications that will have less of a drying effect.

  Alcoholic beverages and alcohol-containing mouthwashes can cause or aggravate dry mouth. Eliminate alcohol where possible. There are alcohol-free mouthwashes and rinses and specially formulated toothpastes available which ease the discomfort of dry mouth and help prevent gum disease.

Oral Moisturizers

• An obvious remedy for dry mouth is to keep the mouth moist through artificial means. Taking frequent sips of water throughout the day is the simplest, safest and cheapest way to relieve dry mouth. There are also products available that act and feel like natural saliva. These are available in forms that are sipped, sprayed, swabbed or sucked.

Stimulating Saliva Flow

• If the salivary glands retain some function, xerostomia patients may increase mouth moisture by using saliva stimulants such as sugar-free candy or chewing gum. The candy, gum or lozenges with sugar substitute xylitol not only stimulate the salivary glands, they help reduce levels of tooth-decay-causing bacteria.

Prescription Treatment for Xerostomia

• The parasympathetic nervous system controls the rate of saliva production by the salivary glands. Just as anticholinergic medications -- such as antihistamines -- inhibit or block the influence of parasympathetic nerve impulses to the salivary glands, cholinergic medications increase saliva flow in functioning salivary glands. The prescription-only cholinergic medications pilocarpine, anethole trithione and Cevimeline function by augmenting the parasympathetic stimulation of the salivary glands.

  Yohimbine also stimulates saliva flow. While yohimbine is available without a prescription, you should consult your physician before taking it.

Alternative Therapies

• Sjogren's syndrome may cause dry mouth and dry eyes. Your doctor can prescribe an electrical saliva-stimulation device. This device applies a current to the tongue and the roof of the mouth, which in turn stimulates all salivary glands.

  Acupuncture may offer not only symptomatic relief of dry mouth, it may prevent prevent the condition altogether in patients getting radiation therapy for cancer. Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center published an April 2009 press release summarizing their pilot study of the effectiveness of acupuncture in 19 patients who had been give radiation therapy for cancer. The researchers found that twice-weekly acupuncture treatments effectively relieved or prevented xerostomia.