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Mouth dryness as reported by older Floridians
Author(s) -
Gilbert Gregg H.,
Heft Marc W.,
Duncan R. Paul
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1993.tb01105.x
Subject(s) - dry mouth , medicine , dryness , swallowing , dentistry , saliva , surgery
–Thirty‐nine percent of 600 community‐dwelling older Floridians (mean age of 78 yr) reported having mouth dryness. Seventy‐nine percent of respondents reported at least one medical condition, 57% were taking at least one prescribed or over‐the‐counter medication, and 33% were taking at least one potentially xerostomic medication. Reported mouth dryness was highly associated with the number of potentially xerostomic medications. After stratification by medication usage, age, diabetes, arthritis, perceived medical health, and dependence in physical functioning were significantly associated with mouth dryness. Persons with dry mouth were also more likely to have reported dental symptoms, signs of dental disease, sensory changes, and other oral symptoms. Ten percent of those who reported mouth dryness also said that their mouths felt dry when eating a meal, 10% said that they had difficulties swallowing foods, and 15% of persons with dry mouth also said that the amount of saliva in their mouths was too little. Sixty‐five percent of persons with dry mouth reported doing one or more dryness‐related behaviors. These results suggest that the prevalence of xerostomia was high, and the impact of dry mouth on individuals’daily behaviors was significant.