Our Dry mouth Main Article provides a comprehensive look at the
who, what, when and how of Dry mouth Definition of Dry mouth Dry
mouth: The condition of not having enough saliva to keep the
mouth wet. This is due to inadequate function of the salivary
glands. Everyone has dry mouth once in a while when they are
nervous, upset or under stress. But if someone has a dry mouth
most all of the time, it can be uncomfortable and lead to
serious health problems. Dry mouth can cause difficulties in
tasting, chewing, swallowing, and speaking. If it goes
untreated, severe dry mouth can also lead to increased levels of
tooth decay and infections of the mouth such as thrush. Severe
dry mouth is not a normal part of aging. It can be a clue to
systemic diseases such as Sjogren syndrome, systemic lupus
erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, sarcoidosis,
amyloidosis, and hypothyroidism. Some medications can also cause
dry mouth. Dry mouth is medically termed xerostomia. From the
Greek "xeros" (dry) + "stoma" (mouth