Clinical Usefulness of an Oral Moisture Checking Device (Mucus)

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that may influence the results of measurements of oral mucosal moisture using the new oral moisture checking device, especially in relation to the operator and the sensor cover.Methods: Oral mucosal moisture was measured using a new oral moisture checking device (Mucus®). To determine the influence of the operator on the measured values by the oral moisture checking device, 5 operators measured the oral mucosal moisture in 12 subjects. The differences were analyzed using the Friedman test. To determine the influence of the sensor cover, one operator measured the oral mucosal moisture in 12 subjects using two sensor covers. The differences were analyzed by Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test.Results: The result of the Friedman test revealed the absence of any significant influence of the operator on the measured values of oral mucosal moisture by the oral moisture checking device. The results of the Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test revealed that the measured values of oral mucosal moisture by the measuring device differed by about 1.6 % between the two sensor covers (P<0.01).Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that oral mucosal moisture can be measured using the new oral moisture checking device without any inter-operator error. However, there is some possibility of the measured values differing depending on the sensor cover used.