Moist Foods, Dental Care Can Ease Dry Mouth

Many people with cancer suffer from dry mouth. The culprit is often chemotherapy or radiation near the head or neck.¹ These cancer treatments can damage cells involved in saliva production, so there's not enough saliva.^{2, 3} This can affect how you taste, swallow, and speak.^{3, 4}

What to do? Try these tips:

• Drink eight to 10 cups of liquid each day. Carry a water bottle with you so that you can sip frequently.¹

• Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and carbonated beverages like soda.⁵

• Between meals, try chewing gum or sucking on ice chips or sugarless candy.^{1, 5}

• Brush your teeth regularly to help keep your mouth clean. This is important because dry mouth raises your risk for cavities and gum disease. Rinsing your mouth with a mixture of baking soda, salt, and water after each meal and at bedtime also can help. To make the mixture, stir half a teaspoon of baking soda and half a teaspoon of salt in one cup of warm water.³

• Use a cool-mist humidifier at night to moisten air in your bedroom.¹

• For severe dry mouth, ask your doctor about using a saliva substitute.³

¹ “Mouth Dryness.” American Cancer Society, February 4, 2008 . www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/PhysicalSideEffects/DealingwithSymptomsatHome/caring-for-the-patient-with-cancer-at-home-mouth-dryness Accessed 2010.

² “Eating Hints for Cancer Patients: Before Treatment Begins.”   National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/eatinghints/page2 Accessed 2010.

³ “Management of Oral Complications During and After Chemotherapy and/or Radiation Therapy.” National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, November 6, 2008. www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/supportivecare/oralcomplications/Patient/page5#Section_35 Accessed 2010.

⁴ “Dry Mouth.” National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, September 3, 2010. www.nidcr.nih.gov/OralHealth/Topics/DryMouth/DryMouth.htm Accessed 2010.

⁵ “Dealing With Dry Mouth.” Journal of the American Dental Association. May 2005, vol. 136, no. 5, p. 703. http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/full/136/5/703 Accessed 2010.