A systematic review of methods to diagnose oral dryness and salivary gland function.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The most advocated clinical method for diagnosing salivary dysfunction is to quantitate unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva (sialometry). Since there is an expected and wide variation in salivary flow rates among individuals, the assessment of dysfunction can be difficult. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the quality of the evidence for the efficacy of diagnostic methods used to identify oral dryness.

Methods

A literature search, with specific indexing terms and a hand search, was conducted for publications that described a method to diagnose oral dryness. The electronic databases of PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were used as data sources. Four reviewers selected publications on the basis of predetermined inclusion and exclusion

SUBMITTER: Lofgren CD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3573918 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature