I successfully completed treatment of Base of Tongue-Right side cancer in September 2006 with still no major problems. I did fall into the small percentage of patients developing ORN. Because of that issue I underwent a total of 40 two hour dives in the single hyperbaric chamber at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. I still visit the Emory Oral Surgery Dept annually for a checkup which they recommend for my remaining life. Now, getting to the point, one of the most aggravating issues I am bothered by is extreme dry mouth, most commonly in the middle of the night. I have been using the Biotene gel product and have been purchasing via Amazon at a price of around $6.50 per tube. I would always buy at least 3 tubes at a time but now it seems that even Amazon no longer has the product. I have been trying to order for over a month now and get an "out of stock" response. I have checked other sites on the internet but it seems that no one has it. Does anyone know if it has been discontinued or any other reasons it is unavailable?

When the Brand name Biotene was bought by GSK from the California company Laclede years ago they engaged in lots of things that made OCF stop recommending the product. The main thing was reformulating the products to take out all the very expensive enzymes that actually made them unique and special. The toothpaste became a Crest type formula with no enzymes and substituted glycerin to make your mouth temporarily feel better. But being water soluble it doesn’t last. The rest of the product line underwent similar changes.

Laclede had a five year non compete, after which they put the original formulas out again under a brand named Salivea. Some of the products are on Amazon, others are online in their own web store. I use the toothpaste and mouthwash and mouth spray during the day. I have very acute xerostomia.

GSK in true big corporate character increased prices and reduced the amount of product in each tube. OCF even though they wanted to pay for our endorsement, declined to promote products we don’t believe in, in spite of needing the revenue it would have brought in. They are also discontinuing products with low sales volume. So you may have to switch brands to find something else you like and works for you. I will post tonight the Amazon links for the products I use if you are interested in trying them.

As a side note and disclosure, OCF is an Amazon affiliate. If you enter their site each time using our link (it doesn’t remember you, so it’s entering though that every time) we make about 5% that costs you nothing to help us.

Thanks for the feedback and I will check out the Salivea information. Also, I did contact GSK regarding my being unable to find the tubed gel product and I was advised that they had a "distribution issue" but the product would be available again 8 February.

Bill Dozier

Regarding my earlier post regarding dry mouth gel issues I recently spoke with a customer service rep with Laclede. I was told that they had experienced production issues with their Biotene tubed gel product. They assured me that the product should be widely available again by the latter part of March 2023.

Bill Dozier

You didn’t talk to someone at Laclede about Biotene. That’s the product they sold to GSK years ago, and GSK ruined the formula of in the name of profits, taking out all the expensive enzyme components. Laclede no is bound by their non compete, and came out with Salivea, which is the original Biotene enzyme formula that GSK Biotene didn’t want to make anymore. If you talked to someone about Biotene recently you were talking to a division of GSK. The giant conglomerate that felt expensive salivary enzymes didn’t need to be in the tooth paste. All they really wanted to buy was the brand name that had a following. It was worth millions. They changed it and told no one. Giving people essentially Crest toothpaste with glycerin added into it.

I have been buying the Salivea products from Amazon and getting them regularly without issues.

Great information on dry mouth rinses, toothpaste and sprays. Are there specific products you recommend for night time use that provide longer protection? My husband is 16 years out with loss or salivary gland function due to radiation treatment for stage 4 base of tongue cancer tx. The dry mouth is hard to manage.