Diagnosis and management of xerostomia and hyposalivation The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Villa, Alessandro, Christopher L Connell, and Silvio Abati. 2015. “Diagnosis and management of xerostomia and hyposalivation.” Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management 11 (1): 45-51. doi:10.2147/TCRM.S76282. http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/TCRM.S76282. Published Version doi:10.2147/TCRM.S76282 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:14065451 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Journal name: Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management Article Designation: Review Year: 2015 Volume: 11 Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management Dovepress Running head verso: Villa et al Running head recto: Diagnosis and management of xerostomia and hyposalivation open access to scientific and medical research DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/TCRM.S76282 Open Access Full Text Article REVIEW Diagnosis and management of xerostomia and hyposalivation Alessandro Villa1,2 Abstract: Xerostomia, the subjective complaint of dry mouth, and hyposalivation remain a Christopher L Connell3 significant burden for many individuals. Diagnosis of xerostomia and salivary gland hypofunc- Silvio Abati4 tion is dependent upon a careful and detailed history and thorough oral examination. There exist many options for treatment and symptom management: salivary stimulants, topical agents, 1Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, Brigham and Women’s saliva substitutes, and systemic sialogogues. The aim of this review is to investigate the current Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; state of knowledge on management and treatment of patients affected by xerostomia and/or 2 Department of Oral Medicine, hyposalivation. Infection and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Keyword: saliva stimulation, dry mouth, saliva substitutes, sialogogues MA, USA; 3Department of General Dentistry, Boston University Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Introduction 4 Boston, MA, USA; Dental Clinic, Xerostomia is defined as the subjective complaint of dry mouth.1 Interestingly, Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, Milano, Italy patients complaining of xerostomia frequently do not show any objective sign of hyposalivation and their symptoms may be secondary to qualitative and/or quantita- tive changes in the composition of saliva.2,3 The normal stimulated salivary flow rate averages 1.5–2.0 mL/min while the unstimulated salivary flow rate is approximately 0.3–0.4 mL/min.4,5 A diagnosis of hyposalivation is made when the stimulated salivary flow rate is# 0.5–0.7 mL/min and the unstimulated salivary flow rate is# 0.1 mL/min.5–7 Xerostomia in patients with objective hyposalivation is diagnosed when the rate of saliva flow is less than the rate of fluid absorption across the oral mucosa plus the rate of fluid evaporation from the mouth.8 Chronic xerostomia remains a significant burden for many individuals. In particular, it may affect speech, chewing, swallowing, denture-wearing, and general well-being.9 Xerostomia secondary to hyposalivation may also result in rampant dental caries, oral fungal infections (eg, candidiasis), taste changes, halitosis, or burning mouth.5,10,11 The most frequent cause of hyposalivation is the use of certain medications (such as anticoagulants, antidepressants, antihypertensives, antiretrovirals, hypoglycemics, levothyroxine, multivitamins and supplements, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and steroid inhalers) (Villa et al, unpublished data, 2014), followed by radiotherapy to the head and neck, and Sjögren’s syndrome.12 Other factors include depression, anxiety and stress, or malnutrition.13 The prevalence of xerostomia in the population ranges from 5.5% to 46%. Studies Correspondence: Alessandro Villa have shown differences in the prevalence between the sexes and xerostomia appears Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, to increase with increasing age. A possible explanation is that older individuals take Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 1620 several xerogenic drugs for their chronic conditions and this may lead to an overall Tremont Street, Suite BC-3-028, Boston, MA 02120, USA reduction of the unstimulated salivary flow rate.1,10,12,14–18 Xerostomia remains an unre- Tel +1 617 732 5517 solved common complaint especially among the geriatric population, despite seeking Fax +1 617 232 8970 Email [email protected] medical or dental consultation.19 The aim of this review is to explore the current state submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management 2015:11 45–51 45 Dovepress © 2015 Villa et al. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/TCRM.S76282 permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress.com/permissions.php Villa et al Dovepress of knowledge on management and treatment of patients developed a questionnaire on the severity of dry mouth, affected by xerostomia and hyposalivation. which may predict true hyposalivation (Table 1).21 A positive answer to all the questions was associated with low saliva Diagnosis of xerostomia and salivary flow rates. A few years later, Thomson et al created an gland hypofunction eleven-item summated rating scale on the severity of chronic The diagnosis of xerostomia and salivary gland hypofunc- xerostomia (Xerostomia Inventory).22 Each response was tion requires a thorough medical history. Particular attention scored and summed to give a final score. van der Putten et al should be given to the reported symptoms, medication use, shortened the Xerostomia Inventory and proposed the Sum- and past medical history. mated Xerostomia Inventory-Dutch. Only five items were Patients with salivary gland hypofunction typically com- included.2 In the questionnaire developed by Sreebny and plain of dry mouth, difficulty swallowing and/or speaking; Valdini, the question “does your mouth usually feel dry” was they hardly tolerate spicy, acidic, and crunchy food and often found to have had a sensitivity of 93%, a specificity of 68%, times report taste changes or difficulty wearing dentures.20 a negative predictive value of 98%, and a positive predictive Several questionnaires have been proposed to identify value of 54% for hyposalivation.23 Eisbruch et al studied the patients with xerostomia and hyposalivation. Fox et al grade of xerostomia through a validated scale made of three Table 1 Questionnaires to assess dry mouth Authors Questions/statements Response/scoring Fox et al21 1) Does the amount of saliva in your mouth seem to Yes/no be too little, too much, or you do not notice it? 2) Do you have any difficulty swallowing? 3) Does your mouth feel dry when eating a meal? 4) Do you sip liquids to aid in swallowing dry food? Thomson et al22 1) My mouth feels dry Never = scoring 1 2) I have difficulty in eating dry foods Hardly ever = scoring 2 3) I get up at night to drink Occasionally = scoring 3 4) My mouth feels dry when eating a meal Fairly often = scoring 4 5) I sip liquids to aid in swallowing food Very often = scoring 5 6) I suck sweets or cough lollies to relieve dry mouth 7) I have difficulties swallowing certain foods 8) The skin of my face feels dry 9) My eyes feel dry 10) My lips feel dry 11) The inside of my nose feels dry van der Putten et al2 1) My mouth feels dry when eating a meal Never = scoring 1 2) My mouth feels dry Occasionally = scoring 2 3) I have difficulty in eating dry foods Ever = scoring 3 4) I have difficulties swallowing certain foods 5) My lips feel dry Eisbruch et al24 Subjective grade 1= no disability Not applicable Subjective grade 2= dryness requiring additional fluids for swallowing Subjective grade 3= dryness causing dietary alterations or interference with sleep, speaking, or other activities Pai et al25 1) Rate the difficulty you experience in speaking due 100 mm horizontal scale to dryness 2) Rate the difficulty you experience in swallowing due to dryness 3) Rate how much saliva is in your mouth 4) Rate the dryness in your mouth 5) Rate the dryness in your throat 6) Rate the dryness of your lips 7) Rate the dryness of your tongue 8) Rate the level of your thirst 46 submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management 2015:11 Dovepress Dovepress Diagnosis and management of xerostomia and hyposalivation grades (Table 1).24 Finally, Pai et al proposed an eight-item (readings at 1, 2, and 3 minutes).31 Other methods to assess visual analogue scale with which patients were asked to score the unstimulated whole salivary flow rate include the spitting their xerostomia.25 method and the suction method.14,30 Stimulated salivary flow One of the major risk factors for xerostomia and hypos- rate is measured after the patient has chewed an unflavored alivation is the use of certain medications. In addition, gum base or paraffin wax (1–2 g) for 1 minute.32 Otherwise, polypharmacy has been shown to significantly influence saliva production can be stimulated with a solution of 2% patients’ saliva flow.10,26 “Xerogenic” medications associ- citric acid placed on the sides of the tongue at intervals of 30 ated with a low unstimulated saliva flow are: psycholeptics, seconds. The saliva is then collected into a graduated cylinder psychoanaleptics (particularly selective serotonin reuptake for 5 minutes.