Dry mouth can be caused by a number of factors. Some of them are as natural as stress and nervousness while others can be as attributed to a serious disease such as Parkinson’s disease or HIV. However, self diagnosis won’t help you in curing dry mouth. And so believes in old wives tales. There are a few myths surrounding dry mouth, from the cures to causes. While some hold some truth in it, others are often unfounded and can be very detrimental to your oral health. Here are a few of the most popular myths surrounding dry mouth.
The first myth concerning dry mouth is that it comes with ageing. While it is true that as you age, you salivary glands does not produce as much saliva as you were younger but this does not necessarily mean that you are susceptible to dry mouth, according to recent studies. Factors such as medication and diseases like Parkinson’s can cause dry mouth in older adults. If you or an elderly part of the family is experiencing dry mouth, you may need to consult a physician to give you the right diagnosis and give you a prescription for dry mouth cure.
Another myth is that drinking less water can cause dry mouth. The reason behind it is that our body may be too dehydrated to produce saliva, hence, the dry mouth. Although there may be a little truth behind it, other factors can also cause dry mouth. To name a few, drinking caffeinated drinks like coffee, tea or soda, medication, oral yeast infection especially in children and natural causes like nervousness and rage. Also, drinking excessive amounts water does not stimulate saliva production, contrary to popular belief. However, it does help alleviate the discomfort felt while swallowing which associated with dry mouth.
Lastly, sucking on candies and sweets can stimulate saliva production, thus curing dry mouth. Mean while, chewing on something can produce saliva, candies and sweets is not exactly the best choice. Sweets and candies can cause tooth decay and could also mean extra calories for you. So while it does help in making your mouth moist by inducing saliva production, it can do more harm to you and your teeth than it can help. There is, however, a better alternative to sweets. Chewing on sugarless gum can also promote saliva production without the risk of tooth decay and gaining extra calories.