139 The severity of oral dryness and the use of drymouth interventions INTRODUCTION Dry-mouth symptoms are usually the result of (poly)pharmacy, but radiotherapy of the head and neck region, systemic diseases such as Sjögren’s syndrome, and chronic stress are also associated with dry-mouth complaints [1–4]. Dry-mouth symptoms may also be induced by a combination of these factors [2]. For example, polypharmacy is common in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome. To relieve the dry-mouth complaints, patients apply a broad spectrum of dry-mouth interventions. When residual salivary function is present, secretion can be stimulated by the use of lozenges and chewing gums or prescription of systemic pharmacotherapies, such as pilocarpine or cevimeline [5–7]. Alternatively, electrostimulation of the salivary glands has been reported to increase saliva production [5, 6]. However, when the salivary gland function is irreversibly impaired, only palliative treatment with, e.g. saliva substitutes, gels and oral rinses remains for the relief of dry-mouth symptoms. The Xerostomia Inventory (XI) is a questionnaire to quantify the overall feeling of oral dryness [8]. In contrast, the recently developed Regional Oral Dryness Inventory (RODI) can be applied to determine dry-mouth perception at specific intra-oral locations [9]. Using the RODI, it was found that Sjögren’s syndrome patients, patients on polypharmacy and patients treated with radiotherapy differed in their perceived intra-oral regional dryness [10]. In Sjögren’s syndrome patients, the posterior palate was the area, which was experienced as most dry, while in polypharmacy patients, the anterior tongue was the most dry area [10]. In those patients treated with radiotherapy, all intra-oral regions were experienced as dry. We hypothesized that the choice for specific dry-mouth interventions by various subgroups of dry-mouth patients might be related to intra-oral regional differences in dry mouth perception. Therefore, we investigated the use of dry mouth interventions by subgroups of patients with different causes of oral dryness and explored the possible relation of the applied interventions with intra-oral dryness and salivary flow rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was approved by the Ethics Review Committee at the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA, protocol number 201951). Data for this retrospective case series study were collected from patients who visited the 7
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