2Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Araştırma ve Tedavi Hastanesi Dental Klinik/Periodontoloji KÜTAHYA
3Hacettepe Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Biyoistatistik ANKARA
4Özel Klinik Periodontoloji İSTANBUL Introduction: Gingival wetness can be diminished in the presence of dry mouth. Our objective was to comparatively assess oral mucosal/gingival wetness in conjunction with other salivarelated measures, in patients with dry mouth.
Materials and Method: Fourteen Sjögren's Syndrome (SS) patients and 14 control individuals were included in the study. Gingival wetness measurements were obtained from five selected sites. Whole salivary flow rate, residual wetness of six mucosal sites, minor salivary gland secretion rates, and periodontal parameters were also determined.
Results: Whole saliva flow rate was lower in dry mouth patients compared to controls, whereas there was no significant difference in minor salivary gland secretions between these groups. The patients with dry mouth had reduced lower labial wetness values. No significant difference was observed between the groups as to gingival wetness.
Conclusion: Present findings suggest that lower labial mucosal wetness is decreased in patients with dry mouth. However, gingival moisture is acceptably maintained in these patients. Mucosal wetness may have a potential benefit for the assessment of oral dryness however; the wide distribution range of most saliva-related measures needs to be taken into account to increase reliability.
Keywords : Aged; Saliva/secretion; Sjogren's Syndrome/diagnosis