For cottonmouth, try specialty products and homegrown dry mouth remedies

If you've ever woken up with morning breath, then you know how powerful the effects of dry mouth can be. Even a few hours of low saliva flow can give bacteria the leeway to run wild on your tongue, leaving you with cottonmouth and a raging case of halitosis. But you don't have to stand for it. Here are some inexpensive and effective dry mouth remedies that you can try at home.

- Drink more water. It may sound totally obvious, but one of the best ways to treat a dry mouth is to simply push fluids. A good rule of thumb is to drink one small glass of water each hour.

- Chew specialty gums. Typical chewing gum, even the sugar-free kind you can find at the store, won't make a difference, but specialty breath freshening varieties can help. That's because the latter are all-natural, oxygenating products. This means that they not only stimulate saliva flow but also make your oral environment hard for microbes to live in.

- Suck on a lozenge. The same specialty product lines that offer gum also make carefully crafted lozenges. These little dry mouth remedies, which are about the size of a cough drop, can wet your whistle while washing away bacteria.

- Avoid caffeinated beverages. Sodas, teas, coffee and other caffeinated drinks may taste good, but they also tend to dry out your palate. Try sipping caffeine-free varieties or sticking to water.

- Abstain from tobacco and alcohol. If you're really committed to a clean and healthy mouth, then this is an easy choice. Smoking, dipping and drinking all parch the tongue and contribute to serious health problems, which means they've got to go.

- Skip the salt. Sodium-rich foods can be disastrous for a chronically dry mouth. Try low-sodium versions of your favorite ingredients, and use salt substitutes instead of table salt.

- Sleep with a humidifier. One of the biggest causes of a dry palate is sleeping with the mouth open. However, short of snoozing with a face mask on, it's hard to keep your yap closed while you sleep. Fortunately, there's an easier way. Simply leave a humidifier on next to your bed at night, and you'll notice that your mouth will be moister and your airways clearer in the morning.