King's College London Dental Institute, London, UK.
Oral Dis. 2011 Jan;17(1):109-14. doi: 10.1111/j.1601-0825.2010.01715.x. Epub 2010 Oct 28.
Mucosal wetness (MW) reflects the layer of residual saliva that covers the oral mucosal surfaces.
The aim of this study was to determine MW at different oral mucosa sites and to investigate the relationship between MW, unstimulated whole salivary flow rates (UWS) and Clinical Oral Dryness Score (CODS).
A total of 100 dry mouth patients and 50 healthy subjects participated in the study. MW was sampled with filter paper strips at four sites inside the mouth; anterior hard palate (AHP), buccal mucosa (BUC), anterior tongue (AT), lower lip (LL) and measured with a micro-moisture meter. Reproducibility was assessed by repeated sampling and diurnal variation was examined.
Mucosal wetness in healthy subjects differed according to site and means±SD were; AHP (11± 11.7μm), BUC (32±14.8μm), AT (65±17.2μm), and LL (25 ±13.5μm). Dry mouth patients with reduced UWS showed increased CODS. MW at all four sites was significantly reduced (P<0.05) in dry mouth patients compared with the healthy subjects. Reproducibility of MW measurement using the intra-class correlation coefficient showed agreement at different visits within subject. MW of the AT showed a positive correlation with UWS (P<0.05).
Mucosal wetness is a reliable measure of oral dryness and had a positive correlation with UWS.
黏膜湿润度（MW）反映了覆盖口腔黏膜表面的唾液残留层。
本研究旨在确定不同口腔黏膜部位的 MW，并探讨 MW 与非刺激性全唾液流量（UWS）和临床口腔干燥评分（CODS）之间的关系。
共有 100 名口干症患者和 50 名健康受试者参加了这项研究。MW 用滤纸条在口腔内四个部位取样；硬腭前（AHP）、颊黏膜（BUC）、舌前（AT）和下唇（LL），并用微量湿度计测量。通过重复取样评估重复性，并检查日间变化。
健康受试者的黏膜湿润度因部位而异，平均值±标准差分别为：AHP（11±11.7μm）、BUC（32±14.8μm）、AT（65±17.2μm）和 LL（25±13.5μm）。UWS 减少的口干症患者 CODS 升高。与健康受试者相比，口干症患者的所有四个部位的 MW 均显著降低（P<0.05）。使用组内相关系数评估 MW 测量的重复性，显示在不同的受试者访视中具有一致性。AT 的 MW 与 UWS 呈正相关（P<0.05）。
黏膜湿润度是口腔干燥的可靠测量指标，与 UWS 呈正相关。
