What Are The Side Effects Of Radiation Therapy?

Dry Mouth

Dry mouth and xerostomia are terms used to describe when an individual experiences a reduced quantity and quality of saliva in their mouth. Saliva is a fluid produced by the salivary glands that help kickstart the process of digestion, break down food, prevent tooth decay, and prevent mouth infections. An individual's mouth uses saliva to clean itself and keep the teeth healthy. Dry mouth can cause an individual to have problems talking, chewing, and swallowing. Dry mouth is an adverse side effect of radiation therapy administered to an individual's mouth, neck, or head regions. Radiation therapy uses beams of concentrated energy or particles in a focused area of the body to destroy the DNA of cancerous cells and inhibit their growth. However, beams of radiation can also harm healthy cells in the targeted area, such as the cells that make up the salivary glands. When radiation causes damage to the salivary glands, they are unable to produce as much saliva as they should.

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