How to Prevent Dry Mouth While Sleeping?

Most people develop a dry mouth while sleeping because they aren’t actively lubricating their mouths with saliva and water for about 6 to 8 hours.

However, people are more conscious of a dry mouth when awake, prompting them to drink water and secrete more saliva to wet their mouths.

An Overview of Dry Mouth and Saliva

Your salivary glands produce a watery liquid called saliva to lubricate your mouth. Saliva production is essential for sustaining oral health because it hydrates the mouth and prevents it from becoming too acidic.

In addition, saliva helps prevent bacteria from multiplying inside the mouth.

If you suffer from dry mouth, your salivary glands are not producing enough saliva to lubricate your mouth adequately.

It is easy to tell when you have a dry mouth because your mouth won’t feel lubricated or wet. Instead, everything will feel dry when you move around your tongue.

Dry mouth increases the risk of tooth decay, cavities, and other poor oral health conditions.

The inner soft tissues of your mouth may dry out as well. So if you frequently get a dry mouth when sleeping, your oral health will worsen unless you find ways to keep your mouth lubricated throughout the night.

Common Symptoms of Dry Mouth at Night

How do you know if you have dry mouth after sleeping at night? The first thing to do is look for any of the following symptoms after you awaken:

[list icon=”https://dentalhubantalya.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/dental-care.png” icon_color=”#333333″ indent=”4″]

• Dry throat
• Lack of saliva in the mouth
• Feeling extra thirsty
• Bad breath
• Trouble breathing
• Dry or cracked lips,
• Trouble speaking

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Now the question remains, “Why is your mouth drying out at night?” Even though you might not have adequate control over your saliva production while asleep, there could be other contributing factors.

For example, perhaps you leave your mouth open and breathe through it at night when asleep.

Maybe you have a fan blowing in your bedroom or leave the window open to allow a cold draft to breeze through the room. These are all situations that could cause your mouth to turn dry quickly.

The Top 5 Ways to Prevent Dry Mouth When Sleeping

Do you want to know how to stop dry mouth from developing when you sleep? Dentists recommend the following five tips for overcoming dry mouth:

1) Stay Hydrated Throughout the Day

Water consumption is the best way to refuel your salivary glands to produce more saliva for your mouth.

Health professionals recommend you drink at least two liters of water per day. But you may have to drink more than two liters of water if other underlying health factors are causing you to have dry mouth.

The critical thing to remember is not to drink too much water at once. Instead, drink small amounts of water over the course of each day to stay fully hydrated for a longer time.

2) Avoid Tea and Coffee Before Bedtime

Tea and coffee are tasty beverages people love to consume at different times of the day. Unfortunately, the downside to tea and coffee is their ability to dehydrate the body.

Their caffeine and acidic content are what cause the body to dehydrate.

Caffeine has minor diuretic effects that increase the passage of urine, while high acidity causes the body to lose water faster.

Therefore, it is best to avoid consuming tea and coffee within three hours before you sleep at night. Then you can reduce the likelihood of developing dry mouth during the night.

3) Chew Sugar-Free Gum

Did you know consistent chewing increases saliva production in the mouth? Find your favorite sugar-free gum and chew on it for about 20 minutes before bedtime.

Then you’ll have plenty of saliva in your mouth for sleep.

Make sure your gum is “sugar-free” to avoid damaging your teeth. Anything sugary is terrible for your teeth, as you probably already know.

4) Reduce Salt and Sodium Intake

Salty foods are high in sodium. Consuming too much sodium in your diet puts more pressure on your kidneys and extracts more water from your bodily cells. All this leads to dehydration and dry mouth.

There are many reasons why reducing your salt and sodium intake is necessary for preserving your good health.

Aside from lowering your blood pressure, cutting sodium from your diet will make it easier for your body to stay hydrated. Then you shouldn’t develop dry mouth as often at night.

5) Consult a Doctor

Make an appointment with your doctor and ask them for advice about your dry mouth problem.

Sometimes a prescription medication can cause dry mouth as a symptom. Your doctor will be able to determine if this is happening to you.

Conclusion

One or more factors may contribute to your dry mouth problem during your sleep.

But if you follow the tips outlined above, you should experience a significant increase in saliva production by the time you wake up each morning.

Then you can maintain a healthy mouth and avoid oral cavities and disease in the future.

References:

1.Sreebny, L. M., & Valdini, A. (1988). Xerostomia. Part I: Relationship to other oral symptoms and salivary gland hypofunction. Oral surgery, oral medicine, and oral pathology, 66(4), 451-458.
2.Hu, Y., Deng, H., Zhang, L., Li, J., & Li, H. (2017). Salivary biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma diagnosis and assessment of treatment efficacy. Oral oncology, 72, 154-159.
3.Voss, T., Lentsch, G., & Petruzzelli, G. (2007). Effect of humidified air on sleep apnea severity. The Laryngoscope, 117(11), 2002-2006.
4.Epstein, J. B., & Villines, D. C. (2009). Xerostomia and its treatment: a review. The Journal of the American Dental Association, 140(5_suppl), 24S-30S.
5.Villa, A., Wolff, A., Aframian, D., Vissink, A., & Ekström, J. (2015). World workshop on oral medicine VI: a systematic review of medication-induced salivary gland dysfunction. Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology and oral radiology, 120(2), 185-206.