While healthy individuals excrete several types of saliva, white saliva is generally not considered normal. There are many different conditions that can alter a person’s saliva color. White saliva is commonly due to dry mouth and certain medications like those for depression, high blood pressure and diabetes. Fungal and bacterial infections can also cause abnormal saliva. If these conditions are not to blame, white saliva might be due to a more serious condition like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a systemic disease or an autoimmune disease.
People suffering from dry mouth, or xerostomia, commonly have white saliva that is stringy or foamy in consistency. Common causes of dry mouth include illness, dehydration and certain medications. A few examples these medications are those used to treat depression, high blood pressure and diabetes. Radiation treatments can also leave a person with white, thin saliva. People who notice their saliva has changed after beginning a new medication should discuss this change with their physician.
White saliva might also indicate an infection of the mouth or stomach. Candidiasis, also known as oral thrush or an oral yeast infection, can make a person’s tongue and saliva appear white or blotchy. An overgrowth of bacteria, namely Helicobacter pylori, in the stomach or gastrointestinal tract can also cause white saliva. When this bacterium infects the stomach, the stomach will become inflamed and, in serious cases, might suffer atrophy. While both of these conditions can be unpleasant and lead to other health problems, most cases can be effectively treated with antibiotics.
People who suffer from digestive problems like GERD might also experience changes in their saliva. If a digestive disorder is to blame, a person’s saliva will usually become white and frothy at times. This commonly occurs while a person is digesting a meal that has irritated the digestive tract. Some sufferers also notice that their saliva has become stringy or thick with an acidic taste. If the saliva becomes too acidic, a person might even begin developing sores on the lips or tongue, or in the mouth.
Systemic diseases might also affect the color of a person’s normal saliva. People who suffer from sarcoidosis, a lung disease that affects the lymph nodes and other tissues, might experience white saliva. While some patients will only develop sarcoidosis, this disease is commonly linked to lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. When a person suffers from sarcoidosis as well as an additional connective tissue disorder the condition is known Sjogren's syndrome. Like other autoimmune disorders, Sjogren's syndrome frequently causes dry mouth and white saliva.
