Hyposalivation and xerostomia in dentate older adults.
BACKGROUND
Older adults are susceptible to reduced saliva production related to certain medications, radiation and chronic conditions. Many of these people have many physical and oral health problems and limited access to dental care. The use of effective screening tools for xerostomia and hyposalivation would be helpful in identifying those at risk. The authors conducted a study to investigate the association between three measures of oral dryness: hyposalivation (low unstimulated salivary flow), self-reported xerostomia and clinically assessed dry mouth.


METHODS
The authors included a convenience sample of 252 nondemented and dentate West Virginia participants 70 years and older who were part of a larger study on oral health and cognition among older adults. Participants completed a self-reported xerostomia index, provided an unstipulated salivary sample and underwent an oral assessment for the study.


RESULTS
Twenty-eight participants (11.1 percent) had hyposalivation, eight of whom reported having xerostomia (sensitivity=28.6 percent). Of the 43 participants who reported having xerostomia, only eight had hyposalivation (positive predictive value=18.6 percent). Hyposalivation and self-reported xerostomia were not significantly related. Clinically assessed dry mouth correlated modestly, but significantly, with hyposalivation and self-reported xerostomia.


CONCLUSIONS
Obtaining routine unstimulated salivary flow rates in addition to self-reported information and oral evaluations may increase early detection of oral dryness, which would assist in implementing early interventions to improve patients' quality of life.


CONCLUSIONS
Visually inspecting oral tissues for dryness and asking a patient if his or her mouth is dry are insufficient measures for clinicians to use to determine if the patient has hyposalivation. The authors recommend that clinicians determine the patient's unstimulated salivary flow rate.
Wiener
R Constance
RC
Department of Dental Practice and Rural Health, School of Dentistry, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA. rcwiener@utma.com
Wu
Bei
B
Crout
Richard
R
Wiener
Michael
M
Plassman
Brenda
B
Kao
Elizabeth
E
McNeil
Daniel
D
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012636:Secretory Rate / Q000502:physiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology