Mouth, Teeth & Gums
Saliva Problems
Too little or too much saliva, which can affect comfort and digestion, sometimes linked to hydration, nutrition, or an underlying condition like Sjogren's syndrome.
Also known as: Dry mouth, Excess salivation, Xerostomia
📝 At a glance
Likely root causes: Dehydration; Inadequate diet or vitamin A deficiency; Food allergy or sensitivity.
First thing to try: Drink warm water before meals to help stimulate saliva flow.
See a doctor if: Persistent dry mouth, especially with dry eyes (possible Sjogren's syndrome)
🔎 Start with the cause
Lasting relief rarely comes from covering a symptom. First find what is feeding the problem, change what you can, and then help the body do what it was designed to do — heal.
Likely root causes
- Dehydration
- Inadequate diet or vitamin A deficiency
- Food allergy or sensitivity
- Certain medications
- Sjogren's syndrome or other underlying conditions
Change what you can
- Drink warm water before meals to help stimulate saliva flow.
- Try a little diluted lemon juice or honey before meals to stimulate saliva.
- Eat foods rich in vitamin A, such as carrots and leafy greens.
- Chew sugar-free gum or sip water often through the day if your mouth feels dry.
- Note any pattern between certain foods and excess saliva, which may point to a sensitivity.
- See a doctor if dry mouth is persistent, especially if you also have dry eyes, since this can suggest Sjogren's syndrome.
- Review your medications with your doctor, since many common drugs cause dry mouth as a side effect.
🩺 When to see a doctor
- Persistent dry mouth, especially with dry eyes (possible Sjogren's syndrome)
- Saliva changes accompanied by difficulty swallowing or chewing
- Excess saliva with no clear dietary trigger
- Any saliva change coinciding with starting a new medication
🌿 The seven pathways to health
Seven pathways for your saliva problems — tap the circle to check one off (saved on your device), or ask Remy for help.
“Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health... In case of sickness 1cause should be ascertained, 2go to work intelligently to remove the disease. 3Unhealthful conditions should be changed, 4wrong habits corrected. 5Then nature is to be assisted in her effort 6to expel impurities and 7to re-establish right conditions in the system.”
🌿 Overview
Saliva plays an important role in digestionHow your body breaks food down into pieces small enough to use for energy. More → and mouth comfort, and either too little (dry mouth) or too much can be bothersome. Dehydration, an inadequate diet, low vitamin A, or a food sensitivity are common contributors, and simple steps like better hydrationGiving your body enough water to work well. More → and nutrition often help. Persistent dry mouth can also be a sign of an underlying condition such as Sjogren's syndrome and is worth mentioning to a doctor.
Saliva does more than moisten the mouth — it begins digestionHow your body breaks food down into pieces small enough to use for energy. More →, protects the teeth, and makes chewing and swallowing comfortable. When saliva production drops too low, the mouth feels dry and uncomfortable and digestion can be affected; too much saliva can also be uncomfortable and sometimes points to irritation or a food sensitivity. Simple causes like dehydration, an inadequate diet, or low vitamin A are common and improve with attention to fluids and nutrition. Persistent dry mouth, though, especially with dry eyes, can be a sign of Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune condition, and deserves medical evaluation rather than ongoing home management alone.
Common signs
- Dry mouth
- Excess saliva
⭐ Community-ranked natural supports
Vote ▲ on everything that helped you, and ▼ on anything you tried that didn't — the ranking updates live. Tap 💬 to share what worked, so others can find it faster.
Steady water intake through the day is the most basic support for healthy saliva production.1000
Carrots provide vitamin A, which supports the health of the mucous membranes that produce saliva.940
Leafy greens supply vitamin A and other nutrients that support healthy salivary glands.930
How the numbers work: this is a weighted voting system — every published book or article recommending a remedy counts as an endorsement vote, and your ▲/▼ counts too. Not medical advice. *Ties are broken by our editor score (sources, safety, simplicity, cost, lifestyle fit, eight-laws alignment).
🍽️ Eating to help
Food is one of the gentlest medicines — small, steady changes help most.
Favor these
- carrot juice
- green and yellow vegetables
- water
Persistent dry mouth with dry eyes may suggest Sjogren's syndrome and is worth discussing with a doctor.
⚖️ Good to know
- Persistent dry mouth raises the risk of dental decay and mouth infections and deserves attention.
- Avoid strong, undiluted lemon juice directly on the teeth, since its acidity can affect enamel over time.
⚕️ What a doctor may offerConventional treatments for this condition — for your information.Show ▾
RemedyRank's heart is natural healing — and honest information. Here is what conventional medical care commonly involves for this condition, listed to inform, never to promote. Decisions about treatment belong with you and your own physician.
Conventional care addresses saliva problems by treating the underlying cause, from hydration and medication review to Sjogren's syndrome management.
Commonly offered
- Saliva substitutes or stimulating lozenges for dry mouth–
- Review and adjustment of medications causing dry mouth–
- Testing and specialist referral for suspected Sjogren's syndrome–
- Dental care to prevent decay associated with chronic dry mouth–
Worth knowing
- Chronic dry mouth significantly raises the risk of tooth decay and should be actively managed
👍/👎 shares whether a treatment helped you — community experience, not medical advice. For full professional details, see the sources under “Learn more” below.
📜 A note from history
Attention to hydration and vitamin-rich foods has long been part of practical care for dry mouth and saliva changes.
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