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Q. I read the letter from the lady who had dry mouth brought on by her medicine. I have had the same problem.
The best item to help relieve dry mouth is XyliMelts adhering discs (OraCoat). My dentist told me about them and they are so helpful!
A. Dry mouth due to medications can be hard to manage. It is sometimes accompanied by constipation because anticholinergic drugs such as amitriptyline or tolterodine can cause both symptoms.
By the way, anticholinergic drugs can cause a lot more mischief than dry mouth and constipation. Often overlooked complications of anticholinergic medications include cognitive dysfunction, memory impairment, impulsive behavior, confused thinking and a risk for falls.
Whenever we hear that someone is complaining of a dry mouth we ask to see a list of her medications to determine whether she is taking an anticholinergic drug. We cannot reproduce the long list of anticholinergic drugs here, but in addition to the medications mentioned above, alprazolam (Xanax), cimetidine (Tagamet), diphenhydramine (Benadryl, Tylenol PM, Simply Sleep, etc) and oxybutynin (Ditropan) all have anticholinergic activity. For a longer list and other drugs that are inappropriate for people over 65, see our chapter titled “The Screwing of Senior Citizens” in the book Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.
What to Do for Dry Mouth
Sometimes a dry mouth is caused by something other than a medication (aging, cancer treatment, a neurological disorder, etc). Regardless of the cause, xylitol, the birch sugar that is the active ingredient in XyliMelts, can help alleviate both dry mouth and constipation problems. Be careful not to overuse xylitol-containing products, since that could lead to diarrhea.
Tillie
San Antonio TX
I found Xylimelts to be a blessed relief, but unfortunately they made me lose my sense of taste. Would like to know if anyone had this effect.
Alberta
California
I’ve been using xylimelts for many months. I recently noticed that my food didn’t taste as good as it used to. Don’t know if this is due to the xylimelts; interesting.
Lynn
Raleigh
I have dry mouth and would like to find out what is causing it. I do not take any medications that cause dry mouth. I already went to the dentist, he did not find anything. I am on 20mg of omeprazole, (for acid reflux) but I am trying to get off it, so I switched to 10mg. and Prelief, which actually seemed to work. But I also tried taking nothing, I burped a lot and felt like I was going to throw-up but didn’t. My dry mouth came sometime after that. Has anybody else had dry mouth from acid reflux? I am going to a gastroenterologist. Also this time of year (May) I have trouble with my sinuses and allergies which may cause dry mouth. My dry mouth gets worst at night and when I talk.
Lanelle L.
My dentist recommended I use Biotene toothpaste and mouth wash. Also if you chew gum, Orbit has Xylitol as a main ingredient. He also said when people start having cavities around the gum area, it is caused from dry mouth.
V. Lloyd-Davies
Lexington, VA
I think what gives me dry mouth at night is using Sensodyne toothpaste. I brush my teeth 3 x day and up until now I’ve always used Sensodyne for each brushing. I have now switched to a different toothpaste for two of those brushings, reserving Sensodyne for the morning one. I have to be careful, because if I cut out Sensodyne completely I have raging tooth sensitivity within a few days.
Valerie B.
Atlanta GA
Saw this in your column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this morning. Please make sure your readers know that Xylitol is toxic to dogs and should always be securely out of reach. Our grand-daughter had been chewing sugar-free gum, threw it into a garbage can and their dog ate it, started seizing and died the next day.
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp
Linda
United States
After being prescribed Cytomel for Hashimoto’s, I immediately developed dry mouth. I stopped taking the drug after two weeks but the dry mouth has remained a sporadic problem (three years later!) I found that tucking fennel seeds inside my cheeks at night really helped. Yes, it sounds gross, but my mouth was so dry I’d wake up with it glued shut! The (raw) fennel seed helps keeps my mouth moist and you only need a few tucked between your cheek and gums. I like the slightly licorice flavor (if you don’t like licorice then I wouldn’t suggest trying this).
I use “oil pulling” which is swishing sesame or sunflower oil in your mouth first thing in the morning for 15 minutes. Now this really is gross but you get used to it. My dentist commented that I had greatly reduced my plaque (plaque is a big problem when you have a dry mouth) and bad breath goes away also. I’m not sure if it helped the dryness per se but it definitely helped with the oral hygiene. I go back to this routine every time I have dry mouth flare-ups and it really helps.
ariel
usa
my thoughts: be very cautious with meds to see if one of the side effects is dry mouth.
I did not realize and took a med to help digestive system for gluten intolerance and my teeth are now spaced out and dentist had to scrape my teeth to get them clean. I now look like I have missing teeth and wide spaces. No $$ to fix it.
Donnie
USA
Be sure to keep all products containing Xylitol out of the reach of pets. Xylitol is deadly for dogs, and many die from eating anything that contains it.
Kathy
Vermont
Xylitol is toxic to dogs. Be very careful if you are a dog owner. They, too, like the sweet taste.
wendy
Xylitol has numerous benefits besides helping dry mouth. It’s glycemic index is 7, so it can be used as a sugar “substitute” by nearly anyone with blood-sugar issues. It also helps rebuild dental enamel and prevent cavities, as well as tasting delicious! Be certain it’s made from birch bark, though, as if it’s corn-sourced, it may be GMO. Great stuff!
Judith Ronat M. D.
Kfar Saba, Israel
Many years ago, a hair dresser taught me the simplest thing to do for dry mouth. As a hair dresser, she had to talk all the time to her clients. She found that holding a prune pit in the side of her mouth caused her to salivate, and that solved the problem. I passed the advice on to the staff of the local dialysis unit, and they gave it to their patients.
Julie
70001
You could choke on the prune pit.