A quality of life issue recently snuck up on me despite a few obvious clues that should have raised a red flag. An upper back molar didn't feel quite right. What prompted me to do so I am not quite sure, but I reached into my mouth with thumb and forefinger and gave it a gentle wiggle and tug. Lo and behold I pulled my own tooth. "How could this happen" I asked my dentist. "I see you regularly and submit to innumerable x-rays." His response as I recall was: "X-rays do not detect all flaws and defects."A week or two later during repair work on my self initiated extraction my dentist uttered "dry mouth" more or less as a casual observation. "It can cause bad breath, but this does not appear to be a problem in your case." A few months later during a "deep cleaning" my hygienist detected a sizable cavity in a molar opposite the one recently repaired. I attributed these phenomena to the aging process and unfortunate luck.
Over time I became aware of (other) symptoms of dry mouth. Gradually upon awakening in the morning I noticed my mouth becoming less and less moist to the point that my tongue was beginning to stick to the roof of my mouth. Duh...it is at this point I got the message. Accordingly I Googled "Dry Mouth". Lo and behold one of the primary causes listed is an abundance of medications. The next order of business... who to consult? My primary doctor? My oncologist? My dentist, who had already been given ample opportunity to weigh in? My fellow PCa warriors on the internet? I chose the latter. My outreach effort produced the following informational exchange:
My posting:
I have recently begun to experience dry mouth. Google says a common cause for this malady is medications. There can be little doubt but that I am now and have been on a protocol which contains a large number of anticancer agents and supplements ala Dr. Snuffy Myers.
Anyone else on this site experience dry mouth? If so, what did you do about it?
My outreach produced the following two helpful responses, edited slightly for brevity and relevance:
--"I generally do not have an issue with dry mouth, but my wife does. She recently started using a product called Xylimelts, which is working very well for her. It is commonly available at many drugstores or online."
--"I get a dry mouth particularly at night and find that Xylimelts work longer and better for me than other mouth washes and sprays. One between the cheek and gum at bedtime usually does the job"
For the record I have the following concerns regarding this resolution of my malady:
(1) It seems rather odd to treat a problem of too much medication by adding another medication (six pills per day)
(2) The Xylimelts packaging contains the following qualifying statements:
(A) This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease
(B) Product does not produce and may reduce the risk of tooth decay
Nonetheless I have begun taking Xylimelts which appear to be my best alternative. Upcoming dental appointments should provide information on the effectiveness of this product and whether I initiated treatment soon enough.
Stay tuned.
Update as of June 12,2020
After a little experimentation with Xliments, I settled on one tablet between gum and cheek nightly as recommended by the fellow PCa warrior cited above. Later I supplemented this solution with a single room humidifier purchased at a local Walmart's for well under $100.00. A third change involved an increase in my daily water intake by eight ounces or so.
Thankfully with these changes my dry mouth syndrome is well under control...Thank you very much!
