What causes low saliva and dryness in the mouth?
Patient: Even though I drink quite a bit of water throughout the day I've always had a dry mouth, especially upon waking in the morning.  However, in the past 2-3 weeks I now feel almost as if my saliva production has shut off - drinking water and swirling it around in my doesn't seem to help for long and if I push my tongue straight out between my teeth and lower lip it feels dry as compared to the rest of the tissue in my mouth.  What could be causing this and what can I do to turn it around?  I'm not eating anything different and I'm not taking any different medications either. Doctor: Hi..Thanks for the query..Dry mouth or Xerostomia can be due to a number of causes like oral thrush that appears as white coating on tongue, dehydration, diabetes,side effects of medication, mouth breathing habit etc..If it is more after waking then can be due to mouth breathing habit..I would suggest you to consult an Oral Physician and get evaluated so that exact cause can be ruled out..As of now gargle with special mouthwash like Biotene..Chew sugar free chewing gum..Suck lemon drops..If this does not relieve then oral lubricants like Oralgel can help..Hope this helps..Regards..