Many things can cause a person to suffer from a dry mouth including the use of cigarettes and other tobacco related products.  Ask anyone who smokes or has smoked in the past and more then likely they will tell you that they experienced having a dry mouth.  They probably will swear their dry mouth isn’t related to their use of cigarettes and tobacco products.  However, using any type of tobacco products or smoking cigarettes is proven to affect the production of saliva within the mouth.  If we aren’t producing an ample amount of saliva then we are becoming victims of a dry mouth.  The more we smoke and use tobacco products the more we are dehydrating the body of the moisture it needs to stay healthy.  We are also drying out the mouth of its natural saliva which is used to rinse the mouth of harmful bacteria.  This leftover bacteria causes other oral health problems.

Smoking cigarettes and using other tobacco related products are not the only things that cause a dry mouth.  Other causes of dry mouth include:

v  Lifestyle changes

v  Hormonal changes

v  Lifestyle habits

v  Damaged or removed salivary glands

v  Nerve damage

v  Side effects of certain medication

v  Side effects of certain diseases

v  Side effects of certain medical treatments

v  Dehydration

For those that suffer from a dry mouth it is important to determine the cause of the dry mouth in order to prevent it.  Some cures for a dry mouth can be as simple as changing a patients medication or the dosage of a prescribed medication.  Other people must be prescribed a substance that helps the salivary glands to produce saliva.  And in some cases it is necessary for a person to change their lifestyle habits in order to cure their dry mouth such as the use of tobacco products.