Dry Mouth Causes
Stress and Anxiety
When you experience stress or anxiety, your body produces hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, that help your body prepare for its “fight-or-flight” response.
The hormones can temporarily reduce non-essential functions, like saliva production, resulting in dry mouth symptoms.
Over-the-Counter Medications
Medications are a major cause of dry mouth. In fact, medications cause approximately 90% of all cases of dry mouth, according to the Academy of General Dentistry.
If you suddenly experience symptoms of dry mouth, it may be because you’ve started taking medication, such as an antidepressant, antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, or anti-hypertensive.
If your dry mouth is persistent and severe, talk to your doctor.
Aging
As you age, your body tends to naturally decrease saliva production, making older adults more susceptible to dry mouth.
Snoring and Mouth Breathing
Snoring while you sleep at night or mouth breathing during the day can cause symptoms that feel like dry mouth as well.
However, if the symptoms go away an hour or so once you wake up or after you start breathing through your nose, it’s unlikely to be xerostomia. Instead, you may be experiencing symptoms because your mouth has been open for a long time.
Certain Health Conditions
Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, kidney disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer in any part of the body can also cause chronic dry mouth.
Some older people suffer from Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease characterized by extremely dry eyes and a dry mouth.
Sjogren’s occurs in older adults and is more common in women than in men. The exact cause remains unclear, but if you or someone you know develops Sjogren’s, paying attention to dry mouth is extremely important.
Even someone with a long-life history of good dental hygiene can develop tooth decay simply because of the extreme lack of saliva that accompanies this condition.
Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drug Use
The chemicals in tobacco and alcohol can temporarily dry out your mouth and lead to symptoms of xerostomia. Some psychoactive drugs, such as methamphetamines and marijuana, can hinder your body’s natural production of saliva and cause symptoms of dry mouth.
This “dry mouth” may not be the medical condition, but prolonged use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs can lead to the same results — tooth decay, gum disease, mouth sores, thrush, etc.
Either way, talk to your doctor about what you’re experiencing.
Nerve Damage
Some types of injuries to the head or neck can damage the specific nerves that stimulate the salivary glands to produce saliva.
With dry mouth causes in mind, let’s take a closer look at the symptoms you may experience.
