Sjorgrens

ellerd

Hi. I have RA plus osteoarthritis in both knees and bursitis in left hip. However my question is regarding my sjorgrens. Does anyone have any remedies for relieving the lack of saliva. I have drops for the eyes for during the day and gel for night but I would be grateful if anyone can help for the dry mouth. Thanks.

stickywicket

Sorry. Can't help but bumping this up in the hope that someone who can will see it

Starburst

You may be doing this already but I was recommended to have 6 monthly dental check ups and 3 monthly hygienist appointments. Sucking sugar free sweets is meant to improve saliva production. You can get certain types of toothpaste that help saliva but I've found them all to taste very grim.

elnafinn

Hi ellerd

Here are some suggestions from NHS Choices although you probably know about these:

"There are simple measures you can try to help keep your mouth moist. For example, it may help to:

•increase your fluid intake – take regular sips of cold water or an unsweetened drink
•suck on sugar-free sweets or chew sugar-free gum – this can stimulate your salivary glands to produce more saliva
•suck on ice cubes – the ice will melt slowly and moisten your mouth
•avoid alcohol (including alcohol-based mouthwashes), caffeine and smoking – these can all make a dry mouth worse

Saliva substitutes and stimulants:

If the measures above don’t help, your dentist, GP or specialist may suggest using an artificial saliva substitute to keep your mouth moist. This may come in the form of a spray, gel or lozenge. Use it as often as you need to, including before and during meals."

Elna

dreamdaisy

I was going to suggest ice cubes - a friend of mine found these helpful albeit a little chilly! He made them smaller than usual so they froze faster. DD