Update knowledge of dry mouth- A guideline for dentists

Abstract

Background: Dry mouth is usually caused by a reduced salivary flow or by changes in the biochemical composition of saliva. Objective: The aim of this paper is a review of the update literature of dry mouth. Methods: We search in pubmed in the past 10 years using the words «dry mouth», «causes», «symptoms», «treatment» and «dentistry». A large number of papers have been identified. Papers not relevant to the issue were removed reducing the entries to 56 only. Results: There are no clearly established protocols for the treatment of dry mouth in the literature. Most of identified papers were systematic reviews, non-systematic reviews, and observational studies. The most studied patients were Sjögren's syndrome and the irradiated patients. Treatments are focused on the etiology, prevention, symptomatic, local salivary stimulation and systemic treatments. Conclusion: It can be concluded that there is no clear evidence for the causes and treatment of dry mouth, therefore the majority of the general dental practitioners refer most of the cases to appropriate specialist. Treatment must be individualized, salivary substitutes and mechanical stimulation techniques can be applied.

Assessment of Oral Health in Elders with and without Alzheimer’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…This finding is not in agreement with the literature findings of the lower level of salivary flow in elders with AD (4,7,29). However, the effect of dry mouth in our study could be seen in the higher halitosis complaint (34) in elderly people with AD than those elders without AD.…”

The Impact of Hyposalivation on Quality of Life (QoL) and Oral Health in the Aging Population of Al Madinah Al Munawarrah

“…Although variable criteria for defining hyposalivation have been used, the criteria used in this study (0.9 mL/min) was defined following the previous studies [ 30 , 31 ]. In addition, the physiological salivary flow rate of 1 mL/min or greater has been classified as normal [ 32 ]. Hence, a salivary flow rate less than physiological (1 mL/min) has been considered as hyposalivation.…”

Xerostomia among elderly patients – systematic review

“…Xerostomia-inducing medications include drugs for epilepsy, obesity, diarrhea, asthma (some bronchodilators), urinary incontinence, Parkinson's disease and hypertension [12]. Drugs with potential xerostomic effects that are most frequently used by elderly patients include opiates, muscle relaxants, anticholinergic, antihistamines, sedative-hypnotics and sympathomimetic [13].…”

“…Certain lifestyle choices can also affect the salivary flow. Chewing tobacco or smoking can lead to the development of dry mouth symptoms [12]. Smoking is also heavily linked to other dental disorders related to xerostomia, such as higher risk of developing dental calculus, cervical caries, tooth mobility, halitosis and gingivitis [17].…”

“…In the available literature, no clear standards for the treatment of xerostomia were wellestablished. The treatment of dry mouth is chosen based on etiology of the case, systemic treatments received by the patient, prevention and local salivary stimulation [12]. It mostly focuses on selecting effective medications for underlying disease and refraining from any unessential medicine [19].…”