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White coated mouth

08/15/2008

Question:

Every morning, when I awake, my mouth – tongue, teeth, roof of mouth – is coated with a thick white substance. What is this and what is causing it? Once I brush my teeth, my mouth feels fine.

Answer:

Without seeing this substance personally, the situation you describe sounds like it could be thickened saliva. When we sleep our saliva (spit) production slows down. In addition, it is not uncommon for people to breathe through their mouths when they are sleeping. In some cases, the drying effect of mouth breathing, together with reduced saliva secretion, may produce a thick mass of partly dried-up saliva that often contains bits of skin cells from the inside of the mouth and colonies of bacteria. For some people, the result is visible. In others, it may contribute to what is termed “morning mouth” or “morning breath”.

Hope this information helps.

For more information:

Go to the Mouth Diseases health topic.