Abstract
In this study, we evaluated the reliability and reproducibility of widely implemented salivary flow rate and oral dryness tests. In experiment 1, twenty young and healthy Japanese participants volunteered to participate. For each participant, the oral moisture (OM) level, unstimulated whole saliva volume (U-WSV), and stimulated whole saliva volume (S-WSV) were measured at the same time on two separate days. In experiment 2, twenty-seven patients who were over 65 years of age volunteered to participate. The OM level and U-WSV were measured at the same time on two separate days. In Experiment 1, the intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) corresponding to the S-WSV, U-WSV, and OM level were 0.23, 0.28, and 0.16, respectively, for the young participants. In Experiment 2, the ICCs corresponding to the U-WSV/spitting and OM level were 0.83 and 0.12, respectively, for the older participants. The results of Bland–Altman analysis confirmed the absence of systematic error, with the exception of the OM level results in Experiment 2, which indicated systematic bias. In conclusion, we believe that there is currently no consistent and reliable screening test for assessing salivary flow rate and oral dryness, although the spitting test was determined to be highly reliable.
Highlights
Xerostomia, the subjective complaint of dry mouth, is a problem and symptom frequently observed in the elderly [1,2,3]. It can occur because of a salivary gland disorder such as Sjögren’s syndrome or systemic disease such as cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, bacterial pneumonia; it can occur as a side effect of post-radiation therapy, multiple drug administration, and in special needs patients [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15]
For Experiment 2, the intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) corresponding to the unstimulated whole saliva volume (U-WSV)/spitting and oral moisture (OM) level were 0.83 and 0.12, respectively, for the older participants
Various methods have been proposed to screen for oral dryness and salivary gland dysfunction, which are caused by many different diseases and secondary factors
Summary
Xerostomia, the subjective complaint of dry mouth, is a problem and symptom frequently observed in the elderly [1,2,3]. It can occur because of a salivary gland disorder such as Sjögren’s syndrome or systemic disease such as cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, bacterial pneumonia; it can occur as a side effect of post-radiation therapy, multiple drug administration, and in special needs patients [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15]. It is important to clarify the reliability and validity of diagnostic methods for dry mouth and saliva dysfunction
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