ORAL DRYNESS, XEROSTOMIA AND SALIVARY FLO W-RATE MEASUREMENT

Xerostomia is a marked reduction in saliva production and may occur as an early symptom of various systemic diseases, It is also secondary t o tile administration of numerous drugs, Severity of salivary gland dy sfunction cannot be predicted from subjective reports of oral dryness by patient, and accurate assessments of salivary gland function should be managed, Several procedures for saliva samplings and secretory act ivity measurements have been reported, In normal individuals, the mean values of unstimulated whole saliva was slightly higher in males (0.4 2 ml/min) than in females (0.37 ml/min), Corresponding mean values for stimulated whole saliva are 1.77 ml/min and 1.38 ml/min, Unstimulated whole saliva collection during 15 min is recommended as the most reli able test for clinical diagnosis, It is found that an unstimulated sal ivary flow of 0.1 ml/min represents the cut-off limit for the diagnosi s of xerostomia.