168 Chapter 8 Table 2: Frequently (>20%) and less frequently used (<20%) interventions by Sjögren’s syndrome patients to relieve dry-mouth symptoms. Data are expressed as percentages. Frequently used intervention for dry mouth % Less frequently used intervention for dry mouth % Drinking water 90.5 Focusing on other activities 13.1 Moistening the lips 72.6 Using other interventions 12.2 Drinking tea 60.7 Using other medications 11.9 Rinsing of the mouth 50.0 Using pilocarpine 8.3 Chewing gum 48.8 Drinking lemonade 4.8 Drinking small volumes 48.8 Drinking soft drinks 3.6 Using mouth gel 42.9 Using acupuncture 3.6 Eating fruit 40.5 Drinking beer 3.6 Using mouth spray 27.4 No intervention 3.6 Drinking coffee 25.0 Sucking ice cubes 2.4 Sucking sour candies 23.8 Putting olive oil in the mouth 1.2 Keeping lemon slices in the mouth 1.2 The association of oral dryness and patients’ discomfort with dry-mouth intervention strategies The association between the perceived oral dryness of Sjögren’s syndrome patients and the frequently used intervention strategies (used by more than 20% of the sample) to relieve dry mouth was further explored. In Tables 3 and 4, the associations are presented between the use of these interventions and the perceived dryness at different intra-oral locations (RODI scores). Respondents who rinsed their mouth and those who refrained from rinsing their mouth showed significant differences in RODI scores for all intra-oral regions except for the anterior palate. The RODI scores of patients who use water were higher for all intra-oral regions except for the anterior palate, lower lip and the anterior tongue than the RODI scores of patients who did not drink water. For other dry-mouth interventions, only a few regions showed significant differences between patients who applied an intervention and patients who did not apply that intervention. Interestingly, for “using mouth gel’’, significant differences were only observed for the inside cheeks and the anterior palate. Intra-oral dryness was not related to the use of the following dry-mouth interventions: “sucking sour candies’’, “chewing gum’’, “eating fruit’’, “moistening the lips’’ and “using mouth spray’’. Table 5 shows the association between the total XI scores and frequently used dry-mouth intervention strategies. Interventions that are associated with
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