How do I find out if one of my drugs is causing a very dry mouth?

Hi there,

Yes — medications are one of the most common causes of dry mouth (also called xerostomia), especially those used for anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, allergies, and autoimmune conditions. I dealt with this for years before realizing that my antidepressant and antihistamine combo was significantly affecting my saliva production.

Dry mouth can lead to more than just discomfort — it can increase your risk for cavities, gum issues, and even tooth loss over time. I had to replace a front tooth because decay went unnoticed for too long due to constant dryness.

In my case, the solution came from a team approach: I talked to my doctor to adjust my medication dose slightly, and my dentist recommended high-fluoride toothpaste and more hydration strategies.

Eventually, I had to get an implant and ended up working with a clinic in Spain that specializes in restorative care for cases with dry mouth complications:

Well the first way is to check the side effects ... most medications that cause dry mouth this is listed in the side effects. However, I've had side effects from meds that aren't listed so what I've done is a deeper dive into the medication itself which is simply by googling the medication. And, when I do I have found out so much about my meds that it's actually upset me and made me wonder why I've been prescribed the med so I say this to forewarn you, so you won't be as shocked as I was at first.

Now what you can use is called biotene it comes in many different forms to help w/dry mouth and I'm quite shocked that your dentist didnt tell you about this. It comes in a toothpaste, a mouthwash, a mouth spray(I use this at night it works wonders) a gel and more. This seems to help many patients who deal w/dry mouth from meds. I've been using it for years and haven't really noticed any side effects from the biotene

I hope this helps

Mariposa555

You need to look up your medications on this site and see what some of the side effects are. I have been taking Amyltriptaline (sp?) for a long time and it definitely caused me to have dry mouth and your dentist is correct, it is very bad for your teeth. I am 55 yrs. Old and have had to get a full set of dentures. I have a 95 yr. Old friend that whenever he goes to the hospital, I take his dental cup, because they assume that he has dentures, but he has all of his teeth. Lol!
Saligen (sp?) is a medication that I have asked my Psychiatrist to prescribe as the name suggests it does increases saliva. It works great, but I have been told that it is mostly prescribed to cancer patients and is expensive. I didn’t run into any difficulties getting it prescribed or the cost, but I was also on Medicaid.