Xerostomia is the feeling of dry mouth, a symptom frequently occurring in older people.
Xerostomia is associated with alterations in the quality and quantity of saliva and
leads to functional alterations such as halitosis, burning sensations, altered taste
perception, malnutrition, and difficulties with chewing. As a result, xerostomia can
have disabling social consequences and reduces quality of life.
1
Xerostomia increases with age because of a decrease in the acinar cells of salivary
glands and is a common side effect of chronic drug treatment.
2
Among community-dwelling older people, the prevalence is up to 40%.
3
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Influence of xerostomia on oral health-related quality of life in the elderly: A 5-year longitudinal study.Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2014; 117: 716-721
- Prevalence of xerostomia and its relationship with underlying diseases, medication, and nutrition: A descriptive observational study.J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013; 61: 1836-1837
- Xerostomia and salivary hypofunction in vulnerable elders: Prevalence and etiology.Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2012; 114: 52-60
- Treatment of xerostomia and hyposalivation in the elderly: A systematic review.Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2016; 21: e355-e366
- A comparison of artificial saliva and chewing gum in the management of xerostomia in patients with advanced cancer.Palliat Med. 2000; 14: 197-203
- Stimulating the discussion on saliva substitutes: A clinical perspective.Aust Dent J. 2013; 58: 11-17
- Buccal drug delivery technologies for patient-centred treatment of radiation-induced xerostomia (dry mouth).Int J Pharm. 2018; 541: 157-166
- Serum pilocarpine esterase activity and response to oral pilocarpine.Biochem Mol Med. 1996; 59: 57-61
- Effect of 0.1% pilocarpine mouthwash on xerostomia: double-blind, randomised controlled trial.J Oral Rehabil. 2014; 41: 226-235
- Efficacy and safety of pilocarpine mouthwash in elderly patients with xerostomia.Spec Care Dentist. 2015; 35: 164-169
- New low-dose liquid pilocarpine formulation for treating dry mouth in Sjogren's syndrome: Clinical efficacy, symptom relief, and improvement in quality of life.J Pharm Health Care Sci. 2018; 4: 4
- Efficacy of pilocarpine lozenge for post-radiation xerostomia in patients with head and neck cancer.Aust Dent J. 2006; 51: 333-337
Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 12, 2020
Footnotes
D.J.A.J. has received lectures fees from Novartis, AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
