Dry mouth is a common disorder in elderly individuals. It is not,
however, necessarily related to decreased salivary flow rate, since
subjective feelings of oral dryness have also been found in those with
normal flow rates. The aim of this study was to examine in elderly
individuals the prevalence of subjective complaints related to dry
mouth, and their association with salivary flow rates and the use of
systemic medication. In 1990 and 1991, 368 elderly inhabitants of
Helsinki, Finland, had their oral health status examined. In addition to
the clinical examination, 341 subjects were interviewed regarding
different oral and non-oral complaints related to dry mouth. Findings
showed that 46% (n = 158) of the subjects had noticed subjective
symptoms of dry mouth. Continuous oral dryness was reported by 12% (n =
40) of the subjects, 6% of the men and 14% of the women (p < 0.05).
In these 40, the oral and non-oral symptoms were more frequent in
subjects reporting continuous dry mouth compared with controls.
Continuous dry mouth was clearly associated with the female gender, with
mouth breathing and with the use of systemic medications