Xerostomia, or chronic dry mouth, is a common syndrome caused by a lack of saliva that can lead to severe eating difficulties, dental caries and oral candida infections. The prevalence of xerostomia increases with age and affects approximately 30% of people aged 65 or older. Given the large numbers of sufferers, and the potential increase in incidence given our aging population, it is important...

A descriptive analysis was made in terms of the related radiation induced acute and late mucositis and xerostomia along with survival and tumor control rates (significance level at 0.016, bonferroni correction), for irradiation in head and neck carcinomas with either 2D Radiation Therapy (2DRT) and 3D conformal (3DCRT) or Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). The mean score of grade > I...

OBJECTIVE Xerostomia is a subjective sensation of mouth dryness often occurring as an unwanted effect of psychotropic drugs. METHODS The clinical efficacy and acceptability of a new oxygenated glycerol triester (OGT) oral spray (1 or 2 sprays up to 4 times daily) in the treatment of xerostomia was compared with those of a commercially available artificial saliva substitute (ASS [Saliveze]) in...

BACKGROUND Recent research has suggested that chronic dry mouth affects the day-to-day lives of older people living in institutions. The condition has usually been considered to be a feature of old age, but recent work by our team produced the somewhat surprising finding that 10% of people in their early thirties are affected. This raises the issue of whether dry mouth is a trivial condition or...

PURPOSE To assess observer-based vs. patient self-reported scoring of xerostomia after intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of head-and-neck (HN) cancer. METHODS A total of 38 patients who had received IMRT for HN cancer underwent xerostomia evaluations 6 to 24 months after completion of therapy using three methods each time: (1) Grading by 3 observers according to the Radiotherapy Oncolog...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a highly prevalent disease worldwide which currently affects 347 million people according to the World Health Organization. There are complications of diabetes which are little known either to healthcare professionals or to the patients themselves, including periodontal disease and other manifestations in the oral cavity such as xerostomia, a burning sensation, and inc...

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurs in 20% to 40% of long-term survivors of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.' The overall clinical picture resembles scleroderma with involvement of the skin, liver, eyes, mouth, upper respiratory tract, and esophagus.' Oral chronic GVHD causes lichenoid stomatitis and sialadenitis with sialodochitis, resulting in decreased or absent salivary I...

BACKGROUND To describe long-term changes in time of quality of life (QOL) and the relation with parotid salivary output in patients with head-and-neck cancer treated with radiotherapy. METHODS Forty-four patients completed the EORTC-QLQ-C30(+3) and the EORTC-QLQ-H&N35 questionnaires before treatment, 6 weeks, 6 months, 12 months, and at least 3.5 years after treatment. At the same time points...