What Are The Symptoms Of Dry Mouth (Xerostomia)?

Since occasional dry mouth occurs for natural reasons like dehydration and stress, it’s very common for Xerostomia patients not to react to their symptoms until their saliva flow has decreased substantially.

When is ‘just a little dry’ actually Xerostomia?

Generally speaking, any one symptom of dry mouth might occur for some other reason. However, if you notice more than one of these symptoms it is time to start taking your dry mouth seriously.

Do you have any of these dry mouth symptoms?

Successfully preventing the many unpleasant effects of dry mouth depends on early diagnosis. Dental professionals may be the most likely to alert an unaware person to the possibility because they are likely to notice the absence of saliva pooling under the tongue while they work.

As helpful as your dental care professional may be, you shouldn’t rely entirely on them. Take personal responsibility for your oral care by being aware of changes in the condition of your teeth and gums; which are likely to show the earliest signs of dry mouth problems.

Unfortunately, not many medical treatments or drugs are successful at treating dry mouth directly. While there are drugs designed to increase the flow of saliva, the side-effects to the drugs are cause for many doctors to make recommendations like sipping water, sucking on sugar-free candy and so on.

Regardless of treatment, diagnosis is important

With proper diagnosis of dry mouth, your physician may change your medications (if that is found to be a contributing factor) or make other effective recommendations. You are also able to do more personally to reduce the damage caused by dry mouth and can experiment with a variety of non-pharmaceutical dry mouth treatments.