Dry mouth at night

The dryness of the mouth is the condition when the saliva glands do not produce enough saliva because their function is impaired due to some reasons. Saliva keeps the mouth moist and insufficient amount of it leads to the dry mouth. One of the consequences of dry mouth is red, swollen and dry tongue, but besides this, the food is not digested properly either. Saliva helps the immune system since it can stop the overproduction of the bacteria in the mouth, which is why tooth decay, gum disease and bad breath usually occur when there is not enough saliva.

Dry mouth at night

Dry mouth is a condition that usually happens at night and it is a quite common condition. It is estimated that even 30% of adult population in America suffer from dry mouth at night. This disorder usually disrupts the sleep, and the feeling of discomfort typically occurs in the morning due to the excessive dryness of the mouth. The people with this condition usually wake up at night to drink water. Snoring, as well as sleeping with open mouth, may cause dry mouth at night.

Causes of dry mouth

Low production of saliva, which has dry mouth as a consequence, has many causative factors.One of the causes responsible for the occurrence of dry mouth is excessive consummation of cigarettes, caffeine and caffeinated beverages. Furthermore, if we want to avoid the incidence of dryness of the mouth, we should not consume tea, coffee and alcohol excessively, since they can induce dry mouth.Dry mouth is a symptom of many diseases since there are several health conditions that cause low production of saliva. Some of these medical conditions are diabetes, anemia, HIV/AIDS and rheumatoid arthritis.Dryness of the mouth also occurs when the patients with cancer receive chemotherapy. The drugs that are used in chemotherapy do not only affect the saliva glands, but they also damage the healthy cells in the mouth. It is also considered that radiation therapy for the neck or head area may lead to the appearance of dry mouth.There are about 400 medicines that have dry mouth as a side effect. Painkillers, antidepressants, decongestants and antihistamines, as well as muscle relaxants, common cold medicines and medicines for treating of diarrhea, high blood pressure and asthma, are only some of these medications.

Other possible causes for the occurrence of dryness of the mouth include aging, the impairment of nerves and dehydration.