Saliva production is essential, but excess saliva is a different story. We will tackle in this article how hypersalivation can cause discomfort to a person with it. Aside from that, we will also discuss its causes and treatment options to address it. Meanwhile, you can click here if you want to book an appointment with a dental provider to check your oral condition.
Excess saliva
Are you experiencing excessive saliva production? In actuality, having excess saliva is an area of concern as well. The other term for excess saliva is hypersalivation. Hypersalivation is not an oral disease, to begin with. However, it could be a symptom of an underlying condition.
Even though saliva helps a lot in maintaining oral health, excessive saliva is not good at all. For this reason, it would be best to seek advice from your dentist or doctor if you notice excessive saliva production in your mouth.
Any of the following can be a factor causing your hypersalivation.
Pregnancy- Sinus infections
- False teeth
- Allergies
- Heartburn or GERD
- Tonsilitis
- Venom
Moreover, other health conditions can be an underlying cause of excessive saliva production, such as the following.
- Down syndrome
- Autism
- ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)
- Stroke
- Parkinson’s disease
- Cerebral palsy
Effects of having hypersalivation
Excessive saliva production can lead to an increased risk of aspirating saliva, foods, or fluids into their lungs. As a result, it can affect their body’s reflexes, such as coughing. Moreover, hypersalivation is an excellent source of discomfort as well.
With this condition, a person will feel embarrassed to socialize with other people. In effect, they can also develop psychological complications and social anxiety. Additionally, hypersalivation will also have an impact on their ability to speak or eat.
Hypersalivation can hinder someone to perform activities without drooling, especially if they can’t keep their mouth closed. For this reason, the best thing the patient should do is consult a medical professional.
It would be best to receive treatment as soon as possible rather than face more severe conditions.
Treatment options for excess saliva
When treating excess saliva, the dentist or doctor has to know if there is an underlying condition. Medical professionals should come up with the best treatment plan for the patient. Overall, the treatment will depend on the patient’s overall health. Moving forward, here are some of the treatment options your medical provider might consider.
1. Dental treatment
Based on your diagnosis, you will need the help of a dentist to address hypersalivation if the cause is a cavity or oral infection. The dentist will select a dental procedure depending on the severity of your oral condition.
The dentist has to check the exact cause of hypersalivation. Afterwards, they will also come up with a dental treatment plan. In this case, they might consider oral restorations if still possible. Otherwise, they might extract the affected tooth.
On the other hand, they might only require you to enhance your practice of proper oral hygiene at home. Home remedies might also work for you.
2. Medications
The typical medication that doctors usually prescribe for hypersalivation is glycopyrrolate (Cuvposa). Its responsibility is to block nerve impulses to the salivary glands. As a result, the glands will produce a lesser amount of saliva.
However, there can be potential side-effects, which can occur severely at times.
- dry mouth
- constipation
- easily irritated
- hyperactivity
- urinary retention
- drowsiness
3. Injections
At a persistent condition of hypersalivation, Botox injection is a possible consideration. The injection will take effect on one or more of your salivary glands. As a result, the nerve and muscles in the area of injection will become paralyzed. This way, it will not produce saliva.
However, the effect of the injection will only take a few months. In this case, you will need to have another session and receive an injection again.
4. Surgery
If your doctor decides to go for this treatment option, it only signifies that you have a severe case of hypersalivation. In this case, your treatment involves surgery on the major salivary glands. The surgery might involve either permanent removal of the glands or relocation.
During a relocation, the release of the saliva will happen at the back of the mouth, where you can easily swallow it.
5. Radiation therapy
If the surgery will still not work out according to your doctor’s diagnosis, they might decide to do radiation therapy on you. This therapy will make your mouth dry, which will relieve your hypersalivation.
6. Therapy
Some patients might need behavioural modification and speech therapy. Posture and head control may help the patient relieve hypersalivation. Additionally, this involves techniques for lip closure, appropriate tongue control, and proper swallowing.
Conclusion
A person with hypersalivation may not only experience excess saliva production. There’s more beyond that. Other health issues can arise if they will not receive the appropriate treatment for this.
On the positive side, some of the factors causing hypersalivation may pass in time on their own. For more severe cases, medical treatment is advisable. Lastly, for chronic hypersalivation, you will be expecting a lifelong treatment process.
For this reason, would you want to reach a chronic stage instead of addressing it earlier? Prolonging the condition will do no good and will only lead to more expensive treatment procedures. Aside from that, it will have a significant effect on how you will live your life daily.
Hypersalivation is treatable. However, you will not know the underlying conditions unless you consult your physician or your dentist. You better act now than regret later.
