Q: My mouth is always dry, with stringy saliva. I’m wondering what could be the cause and what your suggestions might be. Right now, I feel like my mouth stinks, even though I am drinking lots of fluids. SOS — Santa Clarita, CA
A: You seem to be suffering from xerostomia, or dry mouth. Xerostomia is not a disease, but can be a symptom of certain diseases. It can produce series negative effects on your quality of life, affecting dietary habits, nutritional status, speech, taste, tolerance to dental prosthesis and increases to susceptibility to dental caries. The increase in dental caries and periodontal issues can be devastating in many patients and therefore special care must be made to control this condition.
Causes for Xerostomia include:
• Medications — Antihypertensive, antidepressants, analgesics, tranquilizers, diuretics and antihistamines.
• Cancer Therapy — Chemotherapeutic drugs can change the flow and composition of the saliva. Radiation treatment, which is focused on or near the salivary gland, can temporarily or permanently damage the salivary glands.
• Sjögrens Syndrome — An autoimmune disease, causes xerostomia and dry eyes.
Other conditions, such as bone marrow transplant, endocrine disorder, stress, anxiety, depression, and nutritional deficiencies may cause xerostomia. Surprisingly, 17 to 19 percent of the population suffers from this condition. We should also be aware that xerostomia rates increase as we get older, so how do we treat this?
• Drinking plenty of water
• Chewing on sugar-free gum with Xylitol
• Suck on lozenges that have no sugar
• Spray and rinses that help lubricate the dry mouth
• Limit alcohol intake
Increasing your knowledge and understanding of this condition will help you avoid dry mouth.
For more information, please call Dr. Nilda M. Woolard at 661-259-7702 or visit 23369 Lyons Avenue in Valencia.