Oral Aspects of Sjögren’s Syndrome

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune disease associated with the production of autoantibodies and characterized by a progressive lymphocytic and plasma cell infiltration of the salivary and lacrimal glands leading to xerostomia and keratoconjunctivitis sicca (1). A Danish ophthalmologist named Henrik Sjögren in 1932 was the first one, who reported the triad of keratoconjunctivitis sicca, xerostomia, and rheumatoid arthritis and then Sjögren introduced the term keratoconjunctivitis sicca for this syndrome, to distinguish it from dry eyes caused by lack of vitamin A (2). It is characterized by lymphocytic infiltration and subsequent destruction of the exocrine glands (3–5) including those found in the nose, ears, skin, vagina, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems (6).