Dry Mouth and Vitamin Deficiency

Dry mouth can have many causes. One of the main reasons is a malfunction in your salivary glands. This essentially means that you don't have enough saliva in your mouth or are producing saliva of poor quality. While this may not sound like a big deal, saliva is a major factor in keeping your mouth healthy and free of disease. Dry mouth and vitamin deficiency can increase your risk of cavities and oral diseases and complications.

Salivary glands can malfunction because of malnutrition or vitamin deficiency. These glands are particularly likely to run into trouble if you're deficient in protein, vitamin A or iron. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that most people consume 18 milligrams of iron and 5,000 international units of vitamin A on a daily basis. The daily value (DV) for protein is 50 grams.

Read more: 11 Nutrients Americans Aren't Getting Enough Of

Other Deficiency-Related Side Effects

Unfortunately, dry mouth and dry, sore tongues aren't the only oral side effects caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Vitamin A, B-complex vitamins and iron can also affect your lips, gums, periodontal fibers and ability to swallow. Some side effects, like bad breath caused by a lack of vitamin B12, are fairly mild. However, others can be serious and affect your long-term health.

Insufficient amounts of vitamins B6 and B12 can cause the most severe deficiency-related oral side effects. Lack of vitamin B6 can result in periodontal disease, while low vitamin B12 can cause detachment of the periodontal fibers in your mouth and the eventual loss of teeth.

Read more: 10 Weird Signs You're Not Getting Enough Nutrients

Healthy Foods Help Resolve Deficiencies

If you're experiencing dry tongue, dry mouth or any other vitamin deficiency symptoms, you may want to make sure you're getting enough nutrients in your daily diet. According to Harvard Health Publishing, you need to obtain nearly 30 different vitamins and minerals from the foods you eat, because your body isn't able to produce these nutrients in sufficient amounts. Although you can take oral or injectable supplements, it's healthier to consume these essential vitamins and minerals from the foods you eat.

If you're having oral health issues caused by vitamin deficiency, the vitamins and minerals you particularly need to incorporate are protein, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, iron and zinc. Many foods, like dairy products and legumes, contain several of these nutrients.

Protein can be found in a wide variety of plant-based and animal products, including foods like:

Dairy products
Legumes
Meat products
Seitan
Seafood

Vitamin A can be found in foods that include:

Dairy products
Fortified cereals
Fruits like cantaloupe and pumpkin
Vegetables like spinach, broccoli, carrots and sweet potatoes

Thiamin (vitamin B1) can be found in:

Enriched grains and whole grains
Legumes
Meat products, especially pork

Riboflavin (vitamin B2) can be found in:

Enriched grains
Meat products
Milk products
Seafood
Spinach

Niacin (vitamin B3) can be found in:

Beans
Enriched grains and whole grains
Meat products
Seafood

Vitamin B6 can be found in:

Fruits
Legumes
Potatoes
Fish like salmon and tuna

Vitamin B12 can be found in:

Dairy products
Fortified cereals
Meat products
Seafood
Seaweed products that include nori and laver. However, not all seaweed contains this nutrient.

Iron can be found in:

Dark green vegetables
Legumes
Meat products
Seafood
Whole grains and enriched grains

Zinc can be found in:

Fortified cereals
Dairy products
Legumes
Meat products
Seafood
Whole grains

Many other foods contain these nutrients too. The Mayo Clinic considers any food to be rich in nutrients as long as a serving contains 20 percent or more of your daily value for that vitamin or mineral.

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