Andrew,

The old Biotene gel was the bomb. An old OCF member from a decade ago used the gel for scuba diving. He insisted slathering that stuff on made the dry tank air and underwater experience unchanged from before surgery and chemorads. The ProVantage gel is a different approach. It only takes a small amount and you spit it out while it settles in vs putting it all over the inside of the mouth.

For me, ProVantage generates a lot more "bubbly" aerated saliva. I have completely lost the ability to secret saliva from my left parotid. It just swells up and I spend a lot of time throughout the day squeezing the nerve that goes through the salivary gland to empty it so I reduce chances of infection. I use the product every time I brush plus I suck on xylitol candy through the day.

PerioSciences offered a 50% discount a while back for oral cancer survivors just for their small travel size (Chapstick size) for $12. You can check out their website and the hydrating products. I am involved in a study of theirs through my dental oncologist who is also a big supporter of OCF. He will be speaking at an upcoming OCF walk.

Thanks for the tip Ed, PM me and tell me how you escaped from hospice!

Thanks for the heads up about the biotene formula change. I had to stop using the spray because it burned. I have some gel toothpaste, some PBF mouthwash, and oral balance gel and I don't feel any change. Perhaps they are the old formulas (I tend to stock up). I'll have to look more closely.

I just took a look at my Biotene Oral Balance Gel. The tube I'm using says "Contains protein enzyme system..." but the two I bought after that (still in the closet) don't. They say "New improved pH balance." Which means they dropped the enzymes.

This is very disappointing. When I first started using dry mouth products I tried just about every product I could find, and only the Biotene ones worked. Some of the others actually made my mouth dryer after the initial few minutes.