Dry mouth is the condition of your mouth when there is a lack of saliva. There are various other names for a dry mouth like pasties, xerostomia, cottonmouth, and dough mouth. Saliva is an important component in our mouth as it helps in moistening and cleansing of our mouth. Many mouth infections are also prevented by the saliva as it controls the growth of bacteria and fungi in the mouth. When your mouth doesn’t produce enough amount of saliva, your mouth will get dry and uncomfortable. This condition is caused by several factors.

A side-effect of certain medications
There are various medications that cause dry mouth. Some of them are prescribed ones and some are over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. The examples of such medicines, which may cause dry mouth, are antidepressants; antiallergic medicines; pain-relievers; decongestants; weight loss pills; and medicines for acne, hypertension, diarrhea, asthma, and Parkinson’s disease. Sedatives and muscle relaxants can also be the reason of dry mouth.

Aging
Aging can also be one of the reasons for dry mouth. This is because as our age increases, we may face certain health issues, which contribute to causing a dry mouth. There is the utilization of various medications, which will be another cause of dry mouth. Additionally, with the growing age, there is a lack of nutrition and hence, it can also be one of the important factors for the condition of dry mouth.

Certain diseases and infections
There are several diseases and infections like AIDS, diabetes, Sjogren’s syndrome, anemia, Alzheimer’s disease, hypertension, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and mumps that can have various side effects and dry mouth is one of the side-effects caused by these diseases.

Cancer therapy
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the two treatments for cancer. During chemotherapy, the nature of saliva changes and one can also observe a change in the production of saliva. Additionally, while having radiation therapy the salivary glands can get damaged and so the production of saliva will be decreased.

Nerve damage
If you have an injury in your neck area or head area, there might be a possibility of damage of nerve of that region. This can affect saliva production and cause dry mouth.

Use of tobacco and alcohol
We all are aware of the fact that tobacco and alcohol have a very bad impact on overall health. They can also cause dry mouth.

Dehydration
Dehydration is the process in which your body loses a lot of liquid. There are various health issues that can cause dehydration in the body like vomiting, fever, blood loss, excessive sweating, diarrhea, and burns. All these health conditions may lead to dry mouth.

Recreational drug use
There are several drugs that affect our body badly and methamphetamine is one of them, which causes dry mouth and teeth damage in most of the people who are utilizing it. This condition is well known as meth mouth.

These are the several causes of dry mouth and you can treat these symptoms as early as possible by consulting a doctor or a dentist. A doctor or a dentist will treat the dry mouth as per the cause of the condition.