title: Treatment of xerostomia and hyposalivation in the elderly: A systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Therapeutic strategies for xerostomia, regardless of etiology, have so far not had definitive or clearly effective results.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To systematically revise the latest scientific evidence available regarding the treatment of dry mouth, regardless of the cause of the problem.
  
  
  METHODS
  The literature search was conducted in March 2015, using the Medline and Embase databases. The "Clinical Trial", from 2006 to March 2015, was carried out in English and only on human cases. The draft of the systematic review and assessment of the methodological quality of the trials was carried out following the criteria of PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) and the "Oxford Quality Scale".
  
  
  RESULTS
  Finally, a total of 26 trials were identified that met the previously defined selection and quality criteria; 14 related to drug treatments for dry mouth, 10 with non-pharmacological treatment and 2 with alternative treatments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pilocarpine continues to be the best performing sialogogue drug for subjects with xerostomia due to radiation on head and neck cancer or diseases such as Sjogren's Syndrome. For patients with dry mouth caused solely by medication, there are some positive indications from the use of malic acid, along with other elements that counteract the harmful effect on dental enamel. In general, lubrication of oral mucous membrane reduces the symptoms, although the effects are short-lived.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Odontología, C/ Campus de Cartuja s/n 18071, Granada, Spain, jagil@ugr.es.
authors.forename: J-A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gil-Montoya
authors.forename: F-J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Silvestre
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barrios
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Silvestre-Rangil
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000368:Aged; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms; D006801:Humans; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome; D014987:Xerostomia