Has anyone found a way to get the salivary gland working again? The chronic drymouth is decaying my teeth. I would really love to have a moist mouth again. Biotene toothpaste and wash don't seem to help. Oasis drymouth spray is temporary but it sometimes burns my mouth (as does gum). I had aggressive radiation in my mouth almost 1 year ago but certain things still burn. I'd appreciate your input.

There are some drugs that may help. Salagen is an older example and Evoxac has come on the Market more recently. I am on Evoxac and it seems to work meaning that if I forget to take it I notice it. On occasion it may give you a most impressive night sweat (= wet bed)

Best
Markus

Kristy,
I use a product called "Caphosol". (www.caphosol.com) At least I can get 4 or more hours of sleep without having to wake up and get my tongue unstuck from the roof of my mouth. I still drink a lot of water during the day and pee a lot but don't take the caphosol during the day. It does not burn at all but it is not cheap. I finished chemo/rad 9/17/07 and have hot spots on my tongue where almost everything burns also. Hope this helps.

Bruce (SCC Base of the tongue, Stage 3)

Darn good qustion. I have to use my feet to pry my tongue from the roof of my mouth...not a pretty picture.

One thing I miss is not being able to put my tongue out and lick my lips,,LOL.. gotta do it with my finger and it's embarassing in public..But I'll take it. Look like a kid with a sucker.

I have found that during "awake" hours the Biotene chewing gum does a good job. Anytime I am meeting and talking to a stranger I offer apology and explain the gum. Depending on the exact situation, I will sometimes just my water bottle handy instead of the Biotene.

The "fun" season is now here on us in terms of licking Christmas or other Holiday card envelopes in prep for mailing!

Bill D.

I finished treatments July 31st, and dry mouth is an issue now. I use the Biotene products, but they offer minimal help and pretty temporary. I am on pilocarpine (Salagen generic), and it helps, but just a little. If you take a full dose (10 mg 3x/day), you will sweat a lot at night. I actually went for acupuncture yesterday, first treatment, and saw some relief during treatment, but it didn't last. I know you need several to see the effect, so I will go to at least 3 or 4 more to see if it helps. I keep water close by at all times... I also had amifostine injections during radiation, so I hope eventually saliva comes back, they said it could take 9 months to a year...

Hope this helps a little.

Hi Kristy,
I am not here to discourage you but only to share with you my dry mouth experience. Treatment was over six years ago and all along these years, there is no sign of improvement in my mouth dryness.It certainly is worse than I felt a few years ago. I rely heavily on sugar free candies and gums to moisten my mouth so that I can speak clearly. A bottle of water is a must when I go out but I need not drink it often because one small candy can stay in my mouth for over an hour.I get used to it already and have deleted my hope of getting my saliva back. I haven't relied on any medical help or particular dental products. I learn to live with this frustrating situation and so far, it has not affected my social life, my daily activities. So far so good. Dental care is very important and I brush teeth after every meal and even a bite of cookie. I am happy to still have 28 teeth with me ( my wisdom has already left me a long time ago! grin)
While everyone's experience varies and cancer treatment has improved a lot, saliva may come back and your mouth dryness may be easier to cope with. Don't worry.

Karen

I had my 15 month post-Tx checkup with my ENT a couple of weeks ago at which time I discussed dry mouth with her. I asked her about a prescription of Salagen or Evoxac and she advised that now, 15 months post-Tx, my saliva production was probably as good as it will ever be. She further stated that her patients have given her feedback to indicate better results from Evoxac than Salagen and she went ahead and prescribed a 30 day supply for me to try. I have been taking now for the 2 weeks and cannot tell any difference. Overall, she was not impressed by results reported by patients taking either of the scripts.

Bill Dozier

Five years out, the dry mouth has not improved, but I have not let it affect my life in any negative way. The water bottle is a permanent part of my repertoire...as a lawyer I carry one to every court...and occasionally have to explain to a judge or bailiff in certain stupidly strict courts, that I have it for medical reasons. When I am playing golf, I carry it to the green as I get out of the cart, just in case I need a sip while waitng it for the rest of the group to chip or putt.
Certainly I would have liked for it to have improved, but apparently it will not. I used to use the Biotene Oral Jel at night when the dry mouth wakes me up...but now I seem to be able to get through the night just as well with just rinsing with water when I inevitably wake up at night. Probably the worst part is that food tends to get stuck in my teeth much more than before, but that can be remedied with a little mouth cleaning after a meal. It causes me to go to the bathroom more often than most men, but drinking water is supposed to be good for health anyway.

Yes, the dry mouth is worse than it sounded when hearing the Doctor's forecast before radiation, but in the grand scheme of things, it ain't all that bad.

Danny G.