Department of Oral Biochemistry, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, Gustav Mahlerlaan, 3004, 1081 LA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Saliva Clinic of the Dutch Institute for Salivary Research, Bunschoten, Netherlands.
Clin Oral Investig. 2022 Mar;26(3):3097-3108. doi: 10.1007/s00784-021-04292-x. Epub 2022 Jan 10.
Dry-mouth patients use different interventions to relieve their oral dryness. As recent studies showed that various subgroups of dry-mouth patients perceived different intra-oral regions as most dry, the present study investigated whether the use of dry-mouth interventions by various subgroups of dry-mouth patients was related to the perceived oral dryness as well as salivary flow rate.
Xerostomia Inventory (XI) scores, Regional Oral Dryness Score (RODI) scores and used dry-mouth interventions were extracted from the medical records of 528 patients visiting a saliva clinic. Based on their medical history, they were allocated into 6 subgroups.
The subgroups of dry-mouth patients used a wide range of interventions to relieve their oral dryness. Sjögren's syndrome patients used most interventions more frequently than patients with oral dryness due to use of a limited number of medications and controls. Patients using medications showed associations between the total XI score and dry-mouth interventions aimed at the entire mouth. In medication using patients and controls, the locally applied intervention "using mouth gel" was associated with RODI scores of the anterior tongue.
The use of dry-mouth interventions was associated with dry-mouth feelings. Use of interventions aimed to relieve dryness of the entire mouth was significantly associated with total XI score, while locally applied interventions were significantly associated with the severity of dryness at specific intra-oral regions, the anterior tongue in particular.
The results will help clinicians to advise dry-mouth patients about the most suitable interventions for relief of oral dryness complaints.
口干患者使用不同的干预措施来缓解口腔干燥。由于最近的研究表明，不同亚组的口干患者认为口腔内的不同区域最为干燥，本研究调查了不同亚组的口干患者使用口干干预措施是否与感知到的口腔干燥以及唾液流量有关。
从 528 名唾液腺诊所就诊患者的病历中提取了口干量表（XI）评分、区域口腔干燥评分（RODI）评分和使用的口干干预措施。根据他们的病史，将他们分为 6 个亚组。
口干患者亚组使用了广泛的干预措施来缓解口腔干燥。与因使用有限数量的药物和对照组而导致口腔干燥的患者相比，干燥综合征患者更频繁地使用大多数干预措施。使用药物的患者与总 XI 评分之间存在关联，与针对整个口腔的口干干预措施之间存在关联。在使用药物的患者和对照组中，局部应用的干预措施“使用口腔凝胶”与前舌的 RODI 评分相关。
口干干预措施的使用与口干感觉有关。旨在缓解整个口腔干燥的干预措施的使用与总 XI 评分显著相关，而局部应用的干预措施与特定口腔内区域（特别是前舌）的干燥严重程度显著相关。
研究结果将帮助临床医生为口干患者提供缓解口腔干燥症状的最适合干预措施。
