Screening for Oral Dryness in Relation to Salivary Flow Rate Addresses the Need for Functional Tests of Saliva

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to assess the occurrence of reported subjective oral dryness in relation to objective sialometric values in a randomly selected group and a dental care-seeking group. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire assessing subjective oral dryness was sent out to a randomly selected sample of 200 individuals. The dental care-seeking group was recruited from among patients attending the Department of Oral Diagnostics, Malmö University. A total of 200 patients were asked to participate in the present study. In total, 312 individuals (78%) completed the survey and 157 individuals agreed to participate in the complementary clinical examination that included measures of salivary flow rate. Results: The reported subjective oral dryness was 20% and 28.6% for the randomly selected group and the dental careseeking group, respectively. No statistically significant differences were found between the two study populations with regard to percentage of reported subjective oral dryness, and stimulated and unstimulated salivary flow rates (P > 0.05). In the dental care-seeking group, individuals reporting subjective oral dryness presented 'a small degree of abrasion in the dentine in the incisor region' to a greater extent (P 0.05). No statistically significant association between subjective oral dryness and unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow rates was found in either of the studied populations (P > 0.05). Individuals identified with subjective or objective oral dryness presented to a greater extent a history of oral rehabilitation compared to individuals who showed no indication of oral dryness. Conclusions: No association between sialometric measures and subjective report of oral dryness was found in the present study. Keywords: dry mouth, oral dryness, saliva, sialometry, xerostomia