Chapter 7 ABSTRACT Objective Dry-mouthpatients usedifferent interventions to relieve their oral dryness. As recent studies showed that various subgroups of dry-mouth patients perceived different intra-oral regions as most dry, the present study investigated whether the use of dry-mouth interventions by various subgroups of dry-mouth patients was related to the perceived oral dryness as well as salivary flow rate. Materials andmethods Xerostomia Inventory (XI) scores, Regional Oral Dryness Score (RODI) scoresanddrymouth interventions usedwere extracted fromthemedical records of 528 patients visiting a saliva clinic. Based on their medical history, they were allocated into 6 subgroups. Results The subgroups of dry-mouth patients used a wide range of interventions to relieve their oral dryness. Sjögren’s syndrome patients used most interventions more frequently than patients with oral dryness due to use of a limited number of medications and controls. Patients using medications showed associations between the total XI scoreanddry-mouth interventions aimedat the entiremouth. In medication using patients and controls, the locally applied intervention “using mouth gel” was associated with RODI scores of the anterior tongue. Conclusion The use of dry-mouth interventions was associated with dry-mouth feelings. Use of interventions aimed to relieve dryness of the entire mouth was significantly associated with total XI score, while locally applied interventions were significantly associated with the severity of dryness at specific intra-oral regions, the anterior tongue in particular. Clinical relevance The resultswill helpclinicians toadvicedry-mouthpatients about themost suitable interventions for relief of oral dryness complaints. Keywords Sjögren’s syndrome, Dry-mouth, Xerostomia, Xerostomia Inventory, Dry-mouth interventions, Salivary flow rate 138
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