Does the inside of your mouth feel dry, tacky, or sticky? Dry mouth refers to a dental condition in which your mouth produces less saliva than it should, making the oral environment dry. Not only does this feel uncomfortable, but it puts your oral health in danger.
Natural oral bacteria will spread with greater ease in a dry mouth, increasing your risk of infections such as gum disease. Your dentist can treat this infection, but you should prevent contracting it in the first place by eliminating risk factors like dry mouth.
Sometimes, dry mouth occurs for a chronic reason or as a symptom of a larger oral health concern. But in many cases, you can resolve this issue on your own. Read on to find three tips from your dentist that can help you resolve mild dry mouth symptoms from home.
Drink Plenty of Water
Dry mouth occurs due to a lack of saliva within the mouth. This usually happens as a side effect of dehydration. To ensure you stay hydrated you should drink plenty of water. Experts agree you should consume at least eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day to maintain adequate hydration levels.
Drink more than this if you consume dehydrating agents like caffeine. While hydration will prevent dry mouth, sipping water will relieve acute dry mouth as well because it adds refreshing moisture to the mouth. Water introduces other oral health benefits to your smile as well, including a boost in oral hygiene and fighting bad breath.
Chew Sugar-Free Gum
You can beat dry mouth by encouraging saliva production through the act of chewing. However, you do not want to disrupt your diet by chewing and eating when you are not hungry. Chewing gum allows to stimulate the salivary glands without impacting your diet.
You should make sure to choose a gum brand that does not contain sugar. Sugar will notoriously erode your dental structure, putting you at risk of cavities and other dental dangers. To ensure you promote good oral health, fight dry mouth, and avoid hurting your teeth, stick to a sugar-free type of chewing gum.
Check Your Environment
Dry mouth can develop due to factors from your surrounding environment. For instance, if you frequent a room with dry air, this dryness can impact your mouth, leaving you with dry mouth.
If you notice dry mouth symptoms, pay attention to your surroundings. If they tend to occur in a specific area, then you may need to change the environment to resolve this problem, especially if you cannot avoid spending time in that space.
Consider buying a humidifier, a device that adds moisture to dry air. Then you can stave off dry mouth and preserve your oral health. If dry mouth persists despite these at-home efforts, you may have a larger underlying dental concern. Do not ignore or dismiss the issue. Talk to your dentist about these symptoms so that you can avoid dental emergencies.