Xerostomia, or dry mouth, is one of the main causes of halitosis or bad breath. If you have dry mouth, it may be an indication of halitosis. If you have this condition you probably have a sour bitter metallic taste as well. The drier your mouth, the greater the chance you will have bad breath.

Do not fret, dry mouth is treatable. You just need to pay attention to it or your breath may end up smelling like the insides of a toilet pipe. Dry mouth can cause bad breath, which makes the former a potential personal burden and a red flag as far as your social life is concerned.

The amount of oxygen available in your saliva determines whether or not you have dry mouth. The bacteria that cause bad breath thrive in no-oxygen environments. As saliva disappears or gets denser, the mouth dries up and the reduction of oxygen will likely occur. When the bacteria sense the difference, production of volatile sulfur compounds would follow suit. Eventually, halitosis is just a breath away.

Signs and Symptoms

You'll know when you are suffering from dry mouth through these signs and symptoms. Aside from the sensation of dryness in your mouth, xerostomia may result in:

• Cracked lips
• Bad breath
• Sores or split skin at the corners of the mouth
• Saliva that seems thick and stringy
• Sore throat
• Difficulty speaking and swallowing
• Increase plaque, tooth decay, and gum diseases
• An altered sense of taste

For women who have dry mouth, lipstick may adhere to the teeth.

Ways to Avoid Dry Mouth

• Don't Talk Too Much. Continued speaking during the day causes the saliva to thicken, which makes the mouth dry. That is why speakers often have a bottle of water with them. Be sure to bring one if you plan to recite the articles of the Constitution. Also, as people grow older, the production of saliva decreases. There is a greater chance of dry mouth, and bad breath, as you stack up the years. Oral hygiene should become your obsession as the years go by, or else you might end up wearing a muzzle with your dentures.

• Drink H2O. Drinking water is very important. Six to eight glasses of water per day not only replenish the loss fluid in your body, but it also promotes healthy saliva to ward off bad breath. Remember that other liquids such as soda, milk, and juice cannot replace water as the necessary fluid for the body. Only water can replace water loss.

• Control Smoking. Smoking can cause dry mouth. It effectively starves the mouth of oxygen, which could promote the overgrowth of bacteria that create the smelly sulfur products. Smoking also raises the pH level of your mouth and dries the oral tissues. If you are a smoker, do not forget to bring breath fresheners, preferably chewing gum or mint candies. By chewing on some sort of breath freshener, you are adequately supplying saliva and oxygen into the oral cavity. So, if you plan to quit smoking, make halitosis your motivational factor.

• Stop Boozing Around. Alcohol causes dry mouth. Any form of liquid with alcohol could cause your mouth to dry up in a rapid pace, which can lead to instant bad breath. Some commercial mouthwashes contain up to 26% alcohol whereas wine often contains around 11% only. Mouthwashes, however, are not liquor substitutes. Do not offer mouthwashes to your guests, by all means. Avoid drinking too much alcoholic beverage and you could save yourself from hygienic embarrassment. Also, when choosing your mouthwash, be sure to check the label. Those marketing geniuses!

• Eat Your Veggies. Eating vegetables like carrots and celery stimulate saliva production. To treat or prevent dry mouth, you should include vegetables in your diet. Greater saliva production equates to a lesser chance of dry mouth and bad breath.

• Choose Sugar-Free. Chewing gum and eating candy help generate saliva. You can keep your mouth moist by choosing a sugar-free gum or candy as it is more effective in treating or preventing dry mouth. Chew gum for a short period only, as chewing for long periods of time may cause temporomandibular joint (TMJ) problems and you may irritate some people with all that chewing.

• Avoid Acidic Food and Hard Candies. When choosing the candy that best suits your dry mouth predicament, it is best to choose sugar-free ones (as stated earlier). Avoid acidic food or hard candies since they make saliva acerbic, increasing the possibility of tooth decay. Avoid sugary food as well: it increases the risk of tooth decay.

• Avoid Salty and Dry Food. The saltiness and dryness of food can cause saliva production to diminish, which can cause dry mouth. If you have dry mouth, avoid food like crackers, cookies, toast, dry breads, dry poultry, dry fish, dried fruits, and bananas.

• Take Care of Your Teeth. To prevent or treat dry mouth, you can protect your teeth by brushing with a fluoride toothpaste and visiting your dentist regularly. An unhealthy oral cavity can cause dry mouth, which eventually leads to bad breath. Use a fluoride rinse or brush-on fluoride gel before going to bed, it can protect your mouth from bad breath.

• Add Moisture During Bedtime. A room humidifier can add moisture to the air at night. This will prevent the air from drying up, which could cause your mouth to dry up as well. Not body moisturizers, but room moisturizers - just clearing things up.

Take note, if you snore like the Titanic or breathe through your mouth like a goldfish, you are making the tongue, throat, and mouth very dry. When you snore, more sulfur compounds are produced during sleep. Also, mouth breathing can be a serious initiator of bad breath because of dry mouth symptoms.

Treatment for Medically-Induced Dry Mouth

If you feel that the medicine you are taking is causing dry mouth, you may want to consult your doctor. He or she may adjust your dosage or switch you to another medication. Your doctor may also prescribe pilocarpine (Salagen) or cevimeline (Evoxac) to stimulate saliva production.

Dry mouth can be embarrassing and burdensome, especially in the context of your social life. That is why preventing or treating it could boost your self-esteem and confidence. Imagine covering your mouth every time you speak or not talking at all. It would be social suicide! Your mouth is meant to be smelled and adored, not avoided and despised.