Thanks to everyone for your tips, advice and support! My dad recovered from his surgery like a champ with only minor scarring on his neck and a slight speech impairment.

All along the doctors were saying that he wasn't going to need radiation, but alas, there was a possibility that the cancer could have moved into a nerve and so he is now 4+ weeks into radiation therapy.
He's pretty much lost his ability to taste anything but fats, his throat is sore all the time, his tongue is swollen, he just got put on antibiotics for thrush, he's losing weight, he has no appetite...the usual. However he said that the hardest part of all of this is the constant dry-mouth. His salivary glands have pretty much stopped working, and his mouth is always dry. He wakes up 3-4 times per night to drink water because his mouth is so dry. Apparently cough drops and lozenges don't help either. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Magen

Try Biotene mouth wash. Its made for low saliva patients. I kept some on my nightstand when it was bad for me. I would swish some before going to bed and then have it available for later if need be. It helped some but nothing got rid of the dry mouth like time. I can sleep through the night now without any problems and a good deal of my saliva has returned but it took months.

Try a nose spray before going to bed. The key to sleeping with dry mouth is to sleep with your mouth closed. A stuff nose was my biggest problem.

Also a vaporizor nearby will help too. Bet of luck - there's only a few more weeks to go.

Like Kelly mentioned, I used biotene products too...Biotene no alcohol mouth wash for dry mouth, dry mouth tooth paste, dry mouth gel at night, and dry mouth gum. It was just easier to get in most stores, but there are others out there. Drinking water all the time is key too... before going to bed, before meals, even just rinsing, using a humidifier at night like Cheyrl said. Some use saliva meds, like salagen. Smelling lemons, putting lemon in drinking water helps produce saliva, chewing gum, citric hard candy,,preferably sugar free, but I stopped all the sugar substitutes. Hockeydad mentioned sleeping with the mouth closed. The salivary glands shut down or reduce so much even in normal people, and reason why people wake up with a funny taste, and morning breath. I even heard of taping to the mouth closed at night to help keep the mouth closed to help prevent dry mouth, which sounds funny, and some use the cpac..for snoring anyway, but founds it's also good for dry mouth. Alcohol, even with mouthwash, dries the mouth, so does caffeine, peroxide. I hope this helps. As always, check with your doctors, especially with the tape lol. Good luck.

Yes to the biotene as well. I used the toothpaste, mouthwash and gel, and found the gel the most helpful.