title: [Xerostomia: clinic, etiology, diagnosis and treatment].
abstract: The aim of this article is to review the problem of xerostomia considering its clinical, etiological, diagnostic and treatment features, basing on the today's tutorials and scientific articles found in databases on the Internet. Recent epidemiologic data on the prevalence of xerostomia in different countries are introduced. There are analyzed the main aspects of clinical manifestations of xerostomia, according to the different etiology analyzed. The most common etiological factors causing xerostomia, especially the main three of them: radiation therapy, Sjögren's syndrome, and drugs, are pointed out. The most popular and accepted clinical and laboratory assays for measuring and evaluating the function of salivary glands are represented. Attention is paid to xerostomia as substantiation of the separate diagnosis and its role in diagnosing other diseases. The concept of possible treatment modalities and prognosis are discussed. The main and most common problems concerning xerostomia are revealed.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Dental and Oral Diseases, Kaunas University of Medicine, Kaunas, Lithuania. zygimantasg@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Zygimantas
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guobis
authors.forename: Nomeda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Baseviciene
authors.forename: Pajauta
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paipaliene
authors.forename: Gintautas
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sabalys
authors.forename: Ricardas
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kubilius
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D002648:Child; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007638:Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy