Carry Bottled Water to Restore Moisture to Dry Mouth

Summary

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DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a 75-year-old woman in very good health. My problem is a dry mouth. A doctor told me that it comes from medicines, but the only thing I take is a multivitamin. On waking in the morning, my tongue is pasted to the roof of the mouth and my teeth. My mouth gets so dry, it affects my speech. I have tried mouthwashes and sprays, but they last only a few minutes. Can you help me? - L.F.

ANSWER: Everyone normally makes one to two quarts of saliva a day. Saliva has many functions. It lubricates the mouth, moistens food so it can be swallowed, maintains the proper balance of acids and bases in the mouth and inactivates harmful germs to prevent tooth decay. Saliva production has to decrease by 50 percent before a person senses the mouth has become dry.

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Extract

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Carry Bottled Water to Restore Moisture to Dry Mouth

Many medicines dry the mouth. Anticholinergics like Robinul, atropine and scopolamine (the patch used to prevent seasickness), Pamelor and other antidepressants, beta blocker...

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