Dry Mouth/Sore gums

[CharlieFarley2]

Hi
I've been searching the net without much help to find out if anyone has suffered from the most excruciating dry mouth symptoms?

It started 6 months ago, I'm 56 and on HRT (evorel Sequi) I had a root canal after 10 years without any problems with my teeth and it's since then has been the issue.

My mouth is constantly dry-My teeth no longer feel like my own- they feel rough, incredibly sharp and my tongue and gums are so sore. My tongue is constantly in pain and with ulcers from catching on my teeth.

The doctor did a series of blood tests and found nothing except that I was deficient in Calcium and Vit D, which I've been taking supplements for. They haven't made any difference to my symptoms.

I'm therefore assuming menopause, although I've been lucky enough not to have any other symptoms.

Has anyone else experienced this? I've tried all the remedies - chewing gum, saliva spray, less coffee/alcohol etc but the relief is short-lived.

Have I just got to accept that my saliva glands no longer work properly?

Do you know what the tests were for? Dry mouth is common in menopause but also other health issues (covid, Sjögren's syndrome, diabetes, burning mouth syndrome). Can you get a referral from your GP or dentist?

A referral for what? The doctor did full bloods- Thyroid, diabetes, kidney, liver etc I had covid, but it started long before that. I'm currently avoiding all caffeine to see if helps.

It seems odd to me that Dry Mouth is common in menopause, and yet I can't find any anecdotal evidence online from fellow sufferers?

I think both sexes get drier bodies and increased thirst with age. I habitually take a rehydration Dioralyte sachet indeed week. Six talk glasses of water daily as a minimum.

A referral to a consultant to find out the cause of your dry and painful mouth. I was referred by my dentist and tested for a variety of things including Sjögren's. Consultant thought it was burning mouth syndrome but I was later diagnosed with lichen planus.

Might be worth researching this, dry mouth, feeling of cotton wool in the mouth, sores and ulcers, very sore sides to the tongue. Hugely undiagnosed by docs and dentists, apparently rare, helped by a Benzoates and cinnamon free diet. Excellent FB group for support.

Orofacial granulomatosis (OFG) is a condition characterized by persistent enlargement of the soft tissues of the mouth, lips and the area around the mouth on the face, causing in most cases extreme pain. The mechanism of the enlargement is granulomatous inflammation.

@CharlieFarley2

A referral for what? The doctor did full bloods- Thyroid, diabetes, kidney, liver etc I had covid, but it started long before that. I'm currently avoiding all caffeine to see if helps.

It seems odd to me that Dry Mouth is common in menopause, and yet I can't find any anecdotal evidence online from fellow sufferers?

The GP has probably not checked for sjogrens, you might need a referral for that (and a GP should refer you to an appropriate specialist if they are unable to work out a cause, they don't (shouldn't!!) just run a couple of blood tests and then give up!!). You need to keep going back and asking for the next step otherwise they assume you are ok.

Did the GP check for low ferritin and low folate. Both of these can cause sore mouth. You want your ferritin to be over 50 and folate to be mid range.

How long have you been supplementing D and calcium. It can take a long time to build up levels from deficiency, taking supplements isn't an overnight fix. How much vitamin d are you taking? If deficient you should be taking 300,000iu over 6-8 weeks if I recall the timescale correctly. Check the nice guidelines, they will confirm. 800iu a day will not cut it! Ideally you want you vit d around 100.

I have recently developed sore inflamed gums. My pathway so far has been:

Dentist x 3 - referral to MaxFax
MaxFax orders various blood tests for autoimmune and low vitamin causes (may have been some other things I can't recall)
GP for second opinion and fungal and HSV swabs.
Referral to dermatology - they checked for things like lichen planus, lichen sclerosis, etc and referred me for allergy (patch) testing.
Patch testing revealed some allergies so was put on an elimination diet and had to change ALL my products! 😩 - didn't fix mouth but did clear up my Pompholyx eczema! 😀
Discussed further patch testing for my implan ingredients. Still trying to get those.
If no joy with that, next referral would be to mouth diseases specialist in London.

In the meantime, I have done my own research and strongly suspect mine might be silent reflux (which was not mentioned by ANY of the above medical professionals!) and have managed to get it under control with alkaline water and gaviscon (plus introducing T3 to my thyroid meds seems to have also helped). So it's sooooo much better than it was. You can still see some inflammation but it's not painful.

Trying to decide now if I push for further patch testing while that's on the table or explore a referral to a gastroenterologist.

So there's plenty of investigation still left to do for you!!! You haven't even started yet!

My dentist told me it is Cortisol that causes this.

I read online that post menopausal can often include a much dryer mouth. It was recommended to chew daily on sugar free chewing gum. It is helping already after a few days. Though it won 't cure it but at least less annoying.