If you are someone with Dry Mouth and have tried every remedy in your knowledge but somehow still find yourself stuck with it, this article is for you. Before you get to remedies, it gets really important to understand the cause of your dry mouth. Unlike conventional ailments with more or less a definitive cause, dry mouth can be a tricky affair since getting to the root cause of it is not as easy as it may seem. Finding the exact cause is half the work done and then one can get to treating the symptom(s). To address the latter, we jotted down 15 most effective and natural remedies that shall unload half of your burden:

1. YES Foods:

a. Sugar-Free: Chew sugar-free gum or sugar-free hard candies to stimulate saliva secretion. Sugar, sugary stuff absorb moistness and may cause cracks on the skin. Therefore stick to gums and candies with negligible or no sugar at all.
b. Saliva Thinners: Some foods like Papaya, Pineapple are good options for dry mouth since they break down the proteins in the saliva and thus makes saliva thinner.
c. Befriend liquids: Water, fruit drinks (selective ones) and other fresh liquids should be your new best friends. Keep sipping water throughout the day at small quantities and do not overstuff yourself in one go. Due to lack of lubrication, we understand that swallowing food may be painful, therefore sip tiny sips of water along with meals to keep your throat supportive.

Apart from these sugar candies, fruits, and liquids, you can also naturally treat dry mouth with many of your everyday kitchen ingredients.

2. NO Foods:

a. Cut out the C’s: Caffeine and carbonated drinks can cause extreme dryness and thus it is best to avoid them completely.
b. Alcohol: Not only should you avoid alcohol consumption owing to its drying nature, but also avoid mouthwashes that may have alcohol in it. Check for the ingredients of the products before you buy.
c. Limited Xylitol: Xylitol is present in many medicines and products which is good to reduce dryness in the mouth. However, too much is too bad. With an overdose of this, one may witness diarrhea, cramps, etc.

3. Watch the Medicines and Treatments:

a. OTC medicines: While you can consume Over-The-Counter saliva substitutes with trial and error method, do not overdose any product and ensure watching out for side effects. Also, avoid using OTC Antihistamines and Decongestants because they can worsen your symptoms.
b. Side Effects: If you are currently under any medication, talk to your doctor or other sources and find out if dry mouth could be a side effect of that medication(s).
c. Nose Breathing and Nasal Drops: One of the most basic rules is to breathe through the nose as much as possible. If you are someone who always breathes through the mouth, then consider using nasal drops to ease nose breathing to a great extent.

4. Coconut Oil, Vitamin E Oil:

I personally call these oils as super-oils because of their wide range of usage. Both coconut and vitamin E oils are used in a number of hacks and are also easily available plus affordable. Dry mouth often leads to chapped lips for which coconut oil can be a rescue. Applying coconut oil several times a day can be beneficial to keep your lips moist and healthy. And Vitamin E oil should be used in the mouth area especially when needed the most like during sleep when you might have to talk a lot while exercising etc. Vitamin E can be restricted to 2-4 times of application per day.

5. Use Humidifiers:

Use an air humidifier to moisturize the air especially while sleeping during nights.

6. Smoking Kills:

Tobacco potentially causes dry mouth too, leave alone risking your life at a broader perspective.

A very important function of the saliva is to protect the teeth from decay. And with lack of saliva in the dry mouth, the teeth are automatically at risk too. Therefore dental hygiene demands special attention if you have dry mouth. Few tips to note:

7. Use a fluoride toothpaste and/or fluoride rinse for your daily routine

8. Brush your teeth twice every day but be gentle to both your teeth and gums

9. Make sure you visit the dentist at least 2-3 times a year

With these tips and tricks, we hope your dry mouth condition improves.