Salivary Glands and Dry Mouth

Saliva, or "spit," is produced by the salivary glands. Over the course of a day, the average person's salivary glands produce approximately one and a half liters of saliva. Saliva is 99 percent water, but also contains important minerals, enzymes and antibodies.

 

Saliva makes it easier to chew, swallow, and talk. Saliva is also necessary for dental health: harmful substances such as sugar and bacteria are rinsed out of the oral cavity by saliva.

Salivary glands are divided into major and minor salivary glands. There are three major salivary glands:

The sublingual, submandibular and parotid glands are bilateral. This means each type of major salivary gland comes as a pair, so you actually have two parotid glands, one on each side of the face. The same is true for the sublingual and submandibular salivary glands.

 

In addition to the major sublingual, submandibular, and parotid glands, a number of minor salivary glands are scattered throughout the mouth.

When salivary glands fail to produce sufficient saliva, xerostomia occurs. Xerostomia is the medical term for dry mouth. While everyone occasionally experiences a dry mouth, xerostomia can become a chronic condition.

 

Xerostomia worsens at night, when the salivary glands produce less saliva. Dental health suffers when low saliva levels lead to a buildup of bacteria and other substances that attack the teeth. Chronic dry mouth quickly leads to cavities and bad breath.

 

A dry mouth makes it difficult to swallow and chew. People living with xerostomia often have to take a drink before swallowing. Xerostomia can adversely affect quality of life.

Obviously, a dry mouth is the first and foremost symptom of xerostomia. However, a dry mouth leads to other symptoms. A dry mouth may be the cause of: 

In addition, a dry mouth may hurt when hot or spicy food is eaten. Dry mouth often coincides with dry eyes, nose and skin. Women with dry mouth may also report dryness in the vaginal area (women are also more likely to develop dry mouth than men).

Lowered saliva output leads to dry mouth. If the salivary glands do not produce enough saliva, infectious growths, such as Candida albicans (thrush), develop in the mouth. Candida is present in the mouth in small amounts, but in a dry mouth Candida colonies grow large quickly. A thrush outbreak may manifest as white patches in the mouth. Other thrush symptoms include red patches on the sides of the lips.