[Buccal dryness, xerostomia and measurement of salivary secretory activity].

Xerostomia is a marked reduction in saliva production and may occur as an early symptom of various systemic diseases. It is also secondary to the administration of numerous drugs. Severity of salivary gland dysfunction cannot be predicted from subjective reports of oral dryness by patient, and accurate assessments of salivary gland function should be managed. Several procedures for saliva samplings and secretory activity measurements have been reported. In normal individuals, the mean values of unstimulated whole saliva was slightly higher in males (0.42 ml/min) than in females (0.37 ml/min). Corresponding mean values for stimulated whole saliva are 1.77 ml/min and 1.38 ml/min. Unstimulated whole saliva collection during 15 min is recommended as the most reliable test for clinical diagnosis. It is found that an unstimulated salivary flow of 0.1 ml/min represents the cut-off limit for the diagnosis of xerostomia.