Dry mouth medication – Which ones cause dry mouth?

screen for dry mouth

 Medications causing reduced saliva – Dry mouth medication

Dry mouth medication are a common reason patients present with dry mouth. Dry mouth is a term we use to describe when our mouth dries out due to a decrease in the amount of saliva you produce.  Saliva is our bodies natural defense to help wash away all the bacteria that live in our mouth.  Consequently, without saliva we end up with bad breath, gum disease, and cavities all occurring at much higher levels/rates.

Dry mouth can be chronic or temporary.  Temporary dry mouth is a common and normal occurrence for all human beings.   Our mouths dry out for a lot of reasons.  As we age our saliva levels decrease, at night our saliva levels drop-off causing “morning breath”, and things we ingest (particularity medications, alcohol, and other drugs) cause a decrease as well.

The list of dry mouth medication

There are over 400 common medications that cause dry mouth.  It is one of the most common side effects from medication. The more medications that you take the higher the risk is that you will get dry mouth from your medications.  If you take multiple medications from the list you are much more likely to suffer from dry mouth than someone only taking one. Below is a list, put together by Biotene, of most of the medications that cause dry mouth. However, this list is from 2013 so any newer dry mouth medication will not be on this list.

Preventive treatment for dry mouth is found here.

dry mouth medication

 

list dry mouth medications

Dry mouth medication questions

Q: Can you stop taking your mediation if it is causing a dry mouth?
A: No! Almost all the medications are helping far more than they are hurting you. We can fix teeth, some of these medications may be keeping you alive, therefore stopping could be a very bad idea! If you are really suffering from dry mouth talk to your medical doctor about other options. There are many medications that treat the same condition, therefore there may exist a similar drug that will not cause dry mouth for you.
Finally, if you have any questions about your dry mouth and how to combat the ill effects please ask your dentist or dental hygienist at your next dental visit.