Zainab Assy

167 Oral dryness and use of dry-mouth interventions Table 1: Perceived oral dryness in nine intra-oral regions as determined with the Regional Oral Dryness Inventory (RODI) in the study population. Data are presented as median with corresponding interquartile range (IQR) and as a mean with standard deviation (SD). N indicates the total number of respondents for each intra-oral region. Intra-oral regions Mean SD Median IQR N Upper lip 3.25 1.00 3.0 3.0-4.0 85 Inside cheeks 3.13 1.04 3.0 2.0-4.0 86 Anterior palateb 3.40 1.04 3.0 3.0-4.0 86 Posterior palatea,b,c 3.67 0.99 4.0 3.0-4.0 86 Lower lipc,d 3.19 0.98 3.0 3.0-4.0 83 Floor of the moutha,c,d 3.02 1.09 3.0 2.0-4.0 83 Anterior tonguea,e,f 3.46 1.10 4.0 3.0-4.0 83 Posterior tonguea,b,e,f 3.54 1.00 4.0 3.0-4.0 84 Pharynxa,b,e,f 3.61 1.03 4.0 3.0-4.0 83 a Wilcoxon signed-rank tests: p < 0.05 vs. upper lip b Wilcoxon signed-rank tests: p < 0.05 vs. inside cheeks c Wilcoxon signed-rank tests: p < 0.05 vs. anterior palate d Wilcoxon signed-rank tests: p < 0.05 vs. posterior palate e Wilcoxon signed-rank tests: p < 0.05 vs. lower lip f Wilcoxon signed-rank tests: p < 0.05 vs. floor of the mouth g Wilcoxon signed-rank tests: p < 0.05 vs. anterior part of the tongue h Wilcoxon signed-rank tests: p < 0.05 vs. posterior part of the tongue Dry‑mouth interventions strategies Most respondents use one or more interventions for the relief of their dry mouth complaints (Table 2). The most frequently used interventions (> 20%) to relieve dry mouth complaints were “drinking water’’ and “moistening the lips’’. Less frequently used interventions (< 20%) by Sjögren’s syndrome patients were “keeping lemon slices in the mouth’’ and “putting olive oil in the mouth’’. Most reported “using other medications’’ that Sjögren’s syndrome patients used included the use of Xylimelts®, oral adhering discs that release xylitol and cellulose gum upon use. The spontaneously reported “using other interventions’’ included “drinking chocolate milk”, “using mouth wash”, “using specialized toothpaste” and “using different kind of candies”. 8

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk4NDMw