Dry mouth is when our mouth is unusually dry. It is a common problem that causes distress when it persists. It can also cause discomfort while eating and can also negatively impact dental health. In medical language, the term "xerostomia" is used for dry mouth.
There is more than one salivary gland in our mouth. The amount of saliva secreted by the salivary glands is normally between 0.5-1.0 liters. Saliva affects many areas in our lives. In addition to chewing, the secreted saliva also affects your palate and odor perception. It helps prevent bacterial growth in the mouth and prevents tooth decay. It also helps balance the PH level in the mouth. Lack of sufficient saliva secretion may cause a decrease in our mouth's ability to taste. Saliva secretion enables enzymes in the mouth to work better and prevents difficulty in swallowing. Saliva secretion is controlled by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Normally, a person should secrete between 0.1 ml and 3.5 ml of saliva per minute. There is a lack of saliva when less than 0.1ml is secreted per minute.
What are the symptoms of this disease?
• Feeling of dryness in the mouth,
• Saliva that looks dense and fibrous. ,
• Wounds or cracked skin in some parts of the mouth,
• Cracked lips,
• Bad breath,
• Swallowing and difficulty in speaking,
• Sore throat,
• Change in taste,
• Development of fungal infection in the mouth,
• Teeth such as plaque formation, tooth decay and gum diseases.
What are the causes of dry mouth?
• The medications used first may cause dry mouth and decrease in saliva secretion. Drug groups that cause this side effect include drugs used for depression problems, antihistamines, high blood pressure drugs, anti-diarrhea drugs, muscle relaxants, drugs used for urinary incontinence and drugs used for Parkinson's disease.
• Aging is a single thing. It does not cause dry mouth per se, but it may develop due to aging. Dry mouth may develop as a side effect of some medications used for many diseases. In addition, some diseases also cause dry mouth.
• If you are undergoing cancer treatment, some drugs used for chemotherapy treatment can reduce saliva secretion by affecting the salivary glands. Radiotherapy applications to the head and neck area can also negatively affect the salivary glands and reduce saliva secretion. Receiving more than 52 gray radiation during radiotherapy seriously affects the salivary glands.
• Nerve damage. An injury or surgery that causes nerve damage in the head and neck region may also cause dry mouth.
• According to research, it is known that virus diseases also affect the salivary glands. Dry mouth can be a result of certain health conditions, such as the auto-immune disease Sjögren's syndrome, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, HIV / AIDS, and depression. If you notice symptoms of persistent dryness in your mouth, consult a dentist or relevant polyclinic.
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