Xerostomia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Xerostomia, including details on dry mouth, treatment, causes, lack of saliva.

Impact of dry mouth on oral symptoms and function in removable denture wearers in Japan.

Ikebe K, Morii K, Kashiwagi J, Nokubi T, Ettinger RL

Division of Oromaxillofacial Regeneration, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Suita, Japan. ikebe@dent.osaka-u.ac.jp

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the association of dry mouth with oral symptoms and function, such as denture instability, discomfort, soreness in denture-bearing tissue, and dissatisfaction with chewing, tasting, or speaking in removable denture wearers. STUDY DESIGN: The subjects were 493 removable denture wearers with a mean age of 67.3 years. Perception of oral dryness was measured by a questionnaire. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the effect of the dry mouth on oral symptoms and function after controlling for age and gender. RESULTS: Oral dryness during eating was related to dissatisfaction with chewing (odds ratio, 10.5; P < .001) and speaking (odds ratio, 3.5; P < .05) and overall dissatisfaction (odds ratio, 6.3; P < .01) in complete denture wearers. Feeling of dry mouth was likely to be associated with soreness in denture-bearing tissues in both complete and removable partial denture wearers. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant association of the perception of dry mouth among a group of denture wearers with oral symptoms and function.

Published 17 May 2005 in Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod, 99(6): 704-10.
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