Hi all, I am hoping someone can give some options on the dry mouth issue. I was doing ok with it until a couple of months ago. It has gotten so bad that the remainder of the "old" tongue is dry and scaly in the morning. I bought a humidifier and have tried taping my mouth shut at night (I'm a mouth breather). I find the humidifier stuffs up my nose, and I end up breathing through the mouth tape.

I am starting to get some sensation in the flap (my surgeon told me he had hooked up some nerves), and it seems this has come at the same time. It may be coincidence. The other negative is that it is seriously impairing my sleep. I'm an insomniac as it is, but I'm now down to about 2 hours of sleep a night.

Would be happy for any suggestions!

I checked with my son just now who still uses a humidifier and he said he uses "a kid type now because the elephant's trunk pushes the vapor up higher for better dispersion. Also use distilled water as much as possible to minimize mineral buildup." When Paul was in Tx, he also used a plant mister which has a finer spray than the regular spray bottles. Have you tried sleeping with your head slightly elevated? I've seen discussions recently on this forum with other good ideas - perhaps if you do a search in the search box upper right, you could find something that helps. So sorry about the sleep problems. Hope you can get some good sleep soon!

Hi Tina,
I was having the same issues for a while after I finished treatment - I suffer from insomnia too and my dry mouth used to wake me up nonstop. One thing that helped a lot was a facial compression wrap (usually used for face lifts), which actually was recommended for lymphodema but worked more effectively at keeping my mouth closed at night. I would think having something wrapping around under your chin may be more effective (and more comfortable) than taping your mouth since it actually supports your chin. I am sure wrapping an ace bandage around your head/chin would provide the same support - may be worth a try if you haven't already.

Another thing that actually helps me a lot too is doing my flouride trays right before I go to sleep. I have noticed that my dry mouth is consistently much worse on nights that I don't do my trays.

Lastly, rinsing my mouth with act dry mouth at night works pretty well for me (if I don't feel like doing my flouride trays some nights I will substitute the dry mouth wash). Everything works differently for different people I have noticed, but I found this mouthwash to be more effective for me than any Biotine product I tried.

My dry mouth has actually gotten a lot better in the last year, so there is still hope it will get better! I never have dry mouth "attacks" anymore, and I often even sleep the night through without having to wake up for water. Of course, my mouth is always very dry when I get up so I am not sure if part of my sleeping through the night is attributable to me just getting used to it, but either way dry mouth no longer keeps me up at night so that's all that matters

I hope this helps!

They have these lycra snoring straps that wrap sound the chin, head, that may help keep the mouth closed. I also use a humidifier recently, and that seems help. You can leave a pan of water out which puts moisture back in the air too. Keep the air temperature lower as not to dry you out. I brush with biotene dry mouth toothpaste before bed, dry mouth rinse. I keep a bottle of water bedside, and biotene dry mouth spray, that I use during the night if I awaken. Previously, I used the biotene dry mouth gel too on my lips and in mouth before sleep. I also sleep on an incline bed. Sometimes I brush again when I awaken. And I like to drink something carbonated, sugar (helps saliva) and cold, to help clear the mucus like seltzer, soda, even iced tea. Milk replicates saliva, lasts longer than water, which is only 12-16 minutes. I like to make chocolate egg creams too, but not in the moddle of the night, yet! I used these dry mouth tabs during the day, forget name, which stick to the roof of your mouth I used during the day, but read they can be used at night, but I'm cautious of that. I used, and once put the Act dry mouth lozenges in water, which melts, and drank that for dry mouth, but during the day, not at night yet.

I hope this helps.

Hi Tina. I bought a mouthwash for my aunt who experiences dry mouth from oral cancer. Found it on Amazon and it's called Oasis. She said it is better than anything else she's tried... lasts 1.5 hours after a swish. Their other products get good reviews as well but can't vouch for those personally. Also trident extra care gum is very good... she loves it.

Thanks guys. I have tried a number of products without much luck. I think the winter dry air is making it worse. I will try some of the suggestions here.

Some options include:

ACT Dry Mouth Lozenges with Xylitol
XyliMelt tabs

I have become a mouth breather because the muscles don't keep the mouth closed naturally. I use a VPAP breathing machine with max pressure of 24 cmH2O because breathing stops and the body can no longer react to CO2 buildup in the lungs. Most CPAP type machine users max range of pressure is 8-14 cmH2O. When it ramps up to try and kick start breathing it can almost blow the mask of the face or if I use the nasal mask it blows the mouth open. I use a ResMed Adjustable Chin Strap. It goes across the H&N and top of the head and holds your mouth shut. I use it with out e machine when it is real dry.

Go buy some type of RH gauge and keep it near the bed. When we hit sudden extreme cold temps, RH drops over night from 35% down to 15%. Those nights or all nights in winter require a cool mist humidifier near the bed.

It took many years to get to this point but I can sleep 8-9 hours without any issues. In the morning it is a "chore" to clear out all the pooled secretions, clean the tongue. During the evening it takes some effort to ensure the nasal passages are clear for nighttime breathing. I get thick secretions so I have to manage that so I don't get big thick plugs stuck in my voice box area as they shut down breathing.

This may help.