Dry Mouth Treatment.

A temporary bout of dry mouth is nothing to worry about. In fact, that's probably what's causing your problem to begin with-worry. Stress and nervousness can leave your mouth feeling like the Sahara. If that's the case, here are a couple of tips from alternative healers to help with treatment of occasional dry mouth.

BREATHING: The Darth Vader Solution
You can fix stress-caused dry mouth by breathing through your nose, says John Douillard, D.c., a chiropractor, expert in Ayurveda (the ancient system of natural healing from India), and director of the LifeSpa in Boulder, Colorado.

"Just breathe deeply in and out through your nose for about 10 minutes," he says. According to Ayurvedic principles, this method of breathing fills the lower parts of your lungs, which in turn activates the parasympathetic nervous system-the part of your nervous system that calms you down.
He also says to constrict the back of your throat a bit while you breathe so that your inhalations sound like those of the famous Darth Vader character in the Star Wars movies. "This tenses your lower abdominal muscles and massages the vagus nerve, which also reduces physical stress," Dr. Douillard says.

Relief for Chronic Dry Mouth
Many cases of chronic dry mouth are medical in origin, the result of a disease, a drug side effect, or radiation treatment for cancer. If your mouth is chronically dry, you need to seek professional care. But alternative practitioners suggest a number of ways to help prevent and relieve the symptoms of dry mouth that work as well as the moisturizers and saliva substitutes available at drugstores.

COENZYME Ql0: Getting You Back in Circulation
In many people, this substance improves circulation to every area of the body, including the mouth, Dr. Stay believes. For those with chronic dry mouth, the improved circulation may help stop bad breath, cavities, and gum disease, which are three common symptoms of the problem. She recommends 60 milligrams a day if you already have these symptoms and 10 to 30 milligrams a day as a preventive dose.

VITAMIN C: For Tissue Repair

All of the tissues in your mouth, including your tongue, your gums, the insides of your cheeks, and your lips, are damaged when you have chronic dry mouth. To help prevent and repair that damage, you need extra vitamin C, says Dr. Stay. She recommends a daily intake of 2,000 milligrams.

B VITAMINS: Beating the Bugs

Most of the symptoms triggered by dry mouth are caused by bacteria. To battle those bugs, you need to boost the strength of your immune system, and B-complex vitamins do just that. Dr. Stay suggests talking to your doctor about taking a daily supplement with 100 milligrams of the major B-complex vitamins, such as thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, and B6'

GOLDENSEAL: A Natural Moisturizer
To keep your mouth moist and relieve inflamed gums, rinse before bedtime with goldenseal mouthwash, says Dr. Stay. Prepare a cup of goldenseal tea, let it cool, and stir in a teaspoon of baking soda, which also helps to reduce inflammation. Use this formulation as a mouth rinse every night, swishing it in your mouth for as long as possible before spitting it out, advises Dr. Stay.

HOMEOPATHY: A Handy Helper
The homeopathic remedy called Natrum muriaticum is particularly effective if you have cracks in the corners of your mouth and loss of taste, a common symptom of dry mouth, says Dr. Stay. Take a 30C potency of the remedy, dissolving one tablet under your tongue daily.

ALOE: Soothes Inflamed Gums
Aloe gel can relieve tender, burning, inflamed gum tissue, says Dr. Stay. Put some 100 percent pure aloe gel on a cotton-tipped swab and gently spread it on the inflamed areas of your gums. Don't eat or drink for at least an hour afterward. Pure aloe gel may be difficult to find. The gel from a freshly cut leaf will also work, says Dr. Stay.

WATER: A Solution for Seniors
Among those over 60, a common cause of dry mouth is simply not drinking enough water.
If you have chronic dry mouth, you need to drink at least 12 glasses of water a day (a total of 96 ounces), says Flora Parsa Stay, a dentist in Oxnard, California. Buy a water bottle, keep it filled, keep it with you, and sip from it throughout the day.