Why You Have Dry Mouth in Menopause
Do you think you Have dry mouth in Menopause?
Does your mouth feel like the Sahara Desert? Do your cheeks stick to your teeth because you feel like you're a little bit dry? Do you feel like you need water all the time? You may have dry mouth in menopause!
And it’s not fun.
Menopause can impact your mouth in so many ways, and that includes dry mouth, otherwise known as xerostomia. Many women don’t know they have it.
In this post and YouTube video, I’m breaking down:
What xerostomia or dry mouth is.
What it feels like & how it affects you.
Why it can happen, including the hormonal links.
Why your dental health suffers.
General things you can do about it.
Maybe dry mouth is not even on your radar. After you read this post, it will be. Even if you don't feel the effects of dry mouth, it truly is something that you should pay attention to.
If you think your mouth is unusually dry, please go see a licensed practitioner to have an assessment. You should discuss any dry mouth in menopause symptoms with your doctor, dentist, or your dental hygienist.
What dry mouth in menopause feels like.
Dry mouth in menopause is not always obvious. Here are some of the things you may notice when it comes to dry mouth or xerostomia.
Your lips can crack.
Ulcers may appear in your mouth.
You might have that really sticky, dry feeling all the time.
Eating can be tough: dryness creates difficulty in chewing and swallowing.
Talking might be a little tough due to the sticky feeling.
You may have a metallic taste.
Burning mouth or tongue can start. That's really, really common for a lot of women.
Dentures may not fit.
The back of your throat may feel dry or itchy (this can be heartburn or acid reflux, and it's good to get that checked out.)
Your tongue can flooked cracked. It can have a lot of white goo in it.
There's also a thing called hairy tongue as well. Yep. That's a thing.
You may even get increased infections in your throat.
Your gums may bleed more, and you might also be getting more cavities or dental erosion. Saliva is so important to your mouth, help but also your digestion.
Bad breath? You might have dry mouth.
This is where I want women to take note, because even if you're not showing symptoms of dry mouth, if you're moving through the perimenopause to menopause transition, your risk of dental issues are higher because of hormonal changes.
YouTube video from Tanya Stricek describing what it is like to have dry mouth in menopause and what to do about it
Why does dry mouth in menopause happen?
Medications.
When I was a dental hygienist, I had a list of hundreds of medications in my dental hygiene operatory, that caused dry mouth.
Please don't go off any medications if you think they're causing dry mouth. You need to speak to your doctor.
This includes medications for anxiety, depression, blood pressure, diuretics that reduce the water in your body, and incontinence medications. Recreational drugs like cannabis also cause dry mouth.
Health conditions.
There are health conditions that can cause dry mouth, and some of them are very complicated. Things like Sjogren's syndrome, amyloidosis, scleroderma, diabetes, rheumatoid conditions, and autoimmune conditions.
Calcifications or blockages.
Blockages or calcifications in your salivary glands may cause dry mouth in menopause. If you've undergone chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or radiation therapy around the head and neck, dry mouth is one of the outcomes. Your saliva glands could be seriously affected, and usually you will have a professional helping you through that.
Nerve damage.
Salivary flow is regulated by your nervous system, so if there's damage to nerves, you may have changes in the salivary flow of your mouth. And a big one for us ladies, as we age, hormonal changes. Fun. Let's dig into these hormones for just a little bit, because when we're young, we are making estrogen and progesterone as part of our reproductive function.
Certain foods.
There are foods we consume that may dry the mouth and this includes alcohol and coffee. Dry crackers or breads may make your mouth feel drier, if you are not producing saliva.
Hormones and dry mouth in menopause.
As we age, estrogen and progesterone decline. Science tells us that the cells within our mouth contain receptors that match these hormones, and this influences the quantity and quality of your spit. This may be why ladies who move from the reproductive years into menopause may have a lower quality and quantity of spit.
The quantity relates to the dryness and the quality relates to all the things that spit does for us to keep our mouths healthy. Your dental health and your digestion suffers with dry mouth.
Dental health and dry mouth
Chewing and swallowing can be different when you have dry mouth. You need saliva for talking, so your lips don’t stick together. You also need saliva for chewing, and swallowing. Saliva lubricates your mouth, to make a nice mushy mass of food to get down into your gut.
When you don't have that saliva, it really makes chewing and swallowing difficult. It also changes the way you taste things. Kind of weird, huh? Saliva is a solvent for food. It brings the food particles and the taste sensations to the taste buds that live on your tongue and on the top of your mouth. When you have low saliva, you might think that food doesn't taste good anymore.
This can lead us to the next problem.
Cavities
When we lose our taste, things like extra salty foods, extra sugary foods, even higher fat or processed foods can taste way better than the basic whole foods that we might be used to. This may lead to an increased consumption of processed, high carb foods.
If you don't have the saliva to clear it out or buffer extra sugar, you may also have an increased risk of cavities. Food can stick around the teeth longer if you're not brushing and rinsing regularly.
This really makes me think of the quality of food in a lot of nursing homes. When my mom was in a nursing home, there was a lot of soft, palatable, high carb foods, and if you are a dental professional, you probably know the state of these poor souls mouths. In nursing homes, there's not enough people to care for their mouths, so this becomes a terrible combination. A perfect storm of soft, palatable, sticky, highly processed foods and poor dental health.
This is why I really want you to pay attention to your dental health right now. When you have control over your habits now, you can care for your teeth and gums, and preserve them. You may not have the saliva later to wash away the sticky foods that create acid, that create cavities, and create havoc in your mouth. You may not have the dexterity either, for proper tooth brushing and flossing, if you suffer from arthritis later in life.
Gum disease
Reduces saliva can lead to gingivitis, or periodontitis. The lack of saliva flow allows the bacteria and fungus in your mouth to grow out of control. You don’t have the “shower” of spit to bathe the teeth. Dental plaque, which is also a biofilm, increases in stickiness, and you may even notice that it is hard to remove. This in turn causes inflammation in the gums (gingivitis). You may even develop gum disease that affects the bone (periodontitis).
In short, dry mouth in menopause, can lead to oral candida, gum disease and even gas and bloating.
Digestion and your gut with dry mouth.
Why would digestion suffer if you have dry mouth in menopause? An important connection to your gut microbiome starts in your mouth. If your mouth is getting dry, the balance of bacteria can change from symbiotic (harmonious) to pathogenic.
And where does that go?
All the way down. Into your digestive system. Some of us don't realize that our gut is actually open to the world. From your mouth right to your anus, it's open and vulnerable to things that come on into your mouth. Your gut is also vulnerable to the things that grow in your mouth.
And if you've been picking up on all kinds of things about gut health, you'll know how important it is to nourish this gut microbiome.
Your saliva carries so many beneficial things to your mouth. One of these beneficial ingredients in saliva is digestive enzymes, such as salivary amylase, and lingual lipase. These are fancy terms for enzymes that help to break down starch and fat. Lack of saliva when you have dry mouth in menopause can mean lack of digestive enzymes, and this can start an increase in digestive issues in menopause.
We need to deliver these digestive enzymes in the very beginning of digestion, where you chew, and your saliva mixes with food. Enzymes in your mouth get the digestive process started. They travel with the food into the stomach where more enzymes will flow in.
These digestive changes that may start with dry mouth in menopause can mean an increase in gas and bloating. Add in the increased anxiety that comes with this transition into post-menopause, which also causes dry mouth, the issue just gets worse.
Read more about menopause and digestion here.
What to do about dry mouth in menopause?
The most important thing to do for dry mouth in menopause is to see your dentist, dental hygienist, your doctor. Go for a personal assessment. It is important to rule out any potential health conditions and discuss some support systems such as HRT or special oral care products that may help. There are things called salivary substitutes that you can talk to your dentist or doctor about if your medication is part of your dry mouth.
Stay hydrated.
The first line of defense for d is to stay hydrated. We may not be getting enough water in menopause, as out thirst cues change. I have a YouTube video on hydration, where I discuss the science behind our cells changing and not retaining water like we used to.
Keep some water by your side on a regular basis. Yes, I know you're going to pee more, but it's really good to stay hydrated, to keep your salivary flow going, and even your digestive enzymes.
Sugar free lozenges.
They can be very, very helpful for dry mouth in menopause. A lot of these come in the form of xylitol, which is an ingredient in many toothpastes. Here in Canada, there are little melts called Xyli-melts. If you buy any xylitol products for your dental health, keep them away from pets because xylitol can be toxic to pets.
Ditch regular toothpaste and mouth wash.
You might need to swap out your regular toothpaste if you have burning mouth or if you feel like you have dry mouth, because that toothpaste can be very, very irritating. In some people it can increase the feeling of dryness, and so can mouth washes containing alcohol.
There are specific toothpastes for dry mouth that are quite common. Some have fluoride, some do not. Many contain a product called hydroxy appetite. There are alsooral moisturizers that you can use when you're going out if you have to do a lot of talking. Lots of options!
Ginger tea.
Ginger tea can be soothing, and it can help with with biofilm, which is actually that sticky plaque stuff that sits on your teeth.
It also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It can be irritiating for some, however, you can make it yourself and make it very weak. I have an easy recipe right here.
Don't put a lot of ginger in your water. Start really light.
Track any irritating foods.
Do you feel a little bit dryer after having certain food or drink? I’m specifically thinking about alcohol. They are diuretics and can dehydrate you even if you don’t have dry mouth in menopause. They also make your tissues feel dry on contact.
Salty foods can do this as well. I' have heard women identify many things that irritate and dry their mouths, including nuts and crackers.
I wish we didn't have all these hormonal changes that we could sail through midlife and to the end of our days without any health issues at all.
But the truth is, well, we have these changes and it can suck! It's not fun, but when we are aware, when we tune into our body, we can take steps to find the right people to help us move through perimenopause and make space for menopause.
