title: Salivary gland dysfunction: a review of systemic therapies.
abstract: Xerostomia may result from salivary dysfunction secondary to a variety of conditions, including medications, autoimmune disease, and tumoricidal therapy. As the geriatric population increases, the incidence of xerostomia will increase and the oral manifestations will continue to be a challenge to the clinician. Common oral manifestations resulting from decreased salivary flow include increased dental caries, fungal infections, and dysphagia. Treatment for salivary gland dysfunction is currently limited because of a lack of controlled clinical trials. Medications that have been studied in clinical trials are emphasized in this article. The aim of this article is to briefly review salivary gland physiology and to summarize the suggested systemic treatment modalities for xerostomia that emphasize controlled clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia 19104-6003, USA. mgrisius@pobox.upenn.edu
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Grisius
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018679:Cholinergic Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000529:Complementary Therapies; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010277:Parasympathomimetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000503:physiopathology; D012472:Salivation / Q000187:drug effects; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D018679:Cholinergic Agonists; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists; D010277:Parasympathomimetics