Current treatment modalities of oral problems of patients with Sjögren's syndrome: caries prevention.

Prevention of dental caries in patients with hyposalivation due to Sjögren's syndrome requires increasing host resistance and decreasing cariogenic organisms and their substrate. Although plaque control by scrupulous oral hygiene is important, particularly from a periodontal perspective, and restriction of dietary sucrose intake can limit caries, the most successful therapeutic and preventive measure has been the topical application of fluoride to the tooth surface, by the dentist, dental hygienist, dental auxiliary, and the patient. Studies on schoolchildren with normal salivary function who used fluoride dentifrices have shown that efficacy in caries prevention depends on (1) the concentration of fluoride used, (2) the frequency with which it is applied, and, to a certain extent, (3) the specific fluoride compound used. Controlled clinical studies are lacking, however, on patients with hyposalivation due to Sjögren's syndrome, and only limited data are available from patients with radiation-induced hyposalivation. Obviously it is not possible to run placebo control groups; nevertheless, there have been no head-to-head comparisons of fluoride rinses, or of stannous fluoride, acidulated phosphate fluoride, or sodium fluoride gels, and thus no single protocol can be recommended. Accordingly, different centers have used these products interchangeably--for example, selecting a rinse regimen if patients complain of gagging when using a gel applied in a tray, or if the cost of the tray is prohibitive. Recent innovations that show promise for treatment of high-caries-risk patients with hyposalivation are the use of fluoride rinses in combination with chlorhexidine rinses or gels and the professional application of high-concentration chlorhexidine varnishes to the teeth.