Dry Mouth (Xerostomia)

Research suggests that up to 1 in 4 adults may experience a dry mouth, or Xerostomia as it is known as to dentists, but only 7% do something about it¹.

The feeling of a dry mouth can result from a lack of saliva being produced by your body to keep your mouth suitably moist. Most people will experience this from time to time especially when they are emotional or stressed, but if it happens regularly it can be very uncomfortable and is a serious health problem.

The symptoms of a dry mouth may include:

• Dry and cracked or chapped lips
• Dry and fissured or rough tongue
• Stringy, frothy saliva
• Bad breath
• A feeling of stickiness in the mouth
• Waking up at night needing to have a drink
• Dentures not sticking well in the mouth
• Problems with speech
• Altered taste of foods
• Problems with swallowing or chewing food

I have seen many patients come in with signs of dry mouth such as stringy, frothy saliva or a fissured tongue but they do not think it affects their daily function as they are likely to have gotten used to it. In fact most people lose half of their saliva before they actually start to notice symptoms. Dry mouth can, apart from causing discomfort, be an issue as it increases a person’s risk of decay and oral infections²^,³.

– Dr Kim Nguyen

1. Guggenheimer J et al. J Am Dent Assoc 2003;134:619;quiz 118-9
2. Auluck A. How do I manage a patient with dry mouth? J Can Dent Assoc 2016;82:g11
3. Gupta N et al. Radiation-induced dental caries, prevention and treatment. Natl J Maxillofac Surg 2015;6:160-66

Next week: Treatment of Dry Mouth