Xerostomia (dry mouth)

: Xerostomia (dry mouth

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Xerostomia or `dry mouth ' is a characteristic feature or a symptom that develops due to decreased production and secretion of saliva . It is not a disease by itself , but a manifestation experienced in several diss . This symptom has a significant effect on the quality of life experienced by the patient . More than one million individuals are affected with this condition in the US . However , specific studies conducted , have shown that about 17 to 29 percent of the population is affected with

this condition . A significant number of cases of Xerostomia are not aware of the condition they are suffering from Another study demonstrated that about 10 of all the dental patients are likely to suffer from Xerostomia (ADA , 2001 , Turner , 2007 Guggenheimer , 2003

Xerostomia is a symptoms experienced both by medical and dental patients and from a range of causes including consumption of certain medications , connective tissue diss , autoimmune system diss following radiotherapy , etc . Some of the common medications in which Xerostomia develops include atropine , antidepressants , diuretics anti-hypertensive agents , sedatives , antacids , analgesics antihistamines , anti-Parkinson agents , etc . Sjogren 's syndrome is a symptom complex characterized by the development of dry eye , dry mouth and rheumatoid arthritis . Individuals who are administered radiotherapy to the head and neck regions especially for the treatment of various cancers including cancer of the mouth , tongue , sinuses , central nervous system , salivary glands , etc , are also likely to suffer from Xerostomia Xerostomia is seen in a number of other conditions including HIV-Xerostomia , patients who have undergone transplantation (such as bone marrow transplantation and hemodialysis , diabetes mellitus sarcoidosis , anxiety , depression , etc . Xerostomia is also quite common in the elderly population (may be as high as 30 . This may be due to a number of causes such as drug intake , salivary gland hypofunction autoimmune diss , mental diss , dehydration , Alzheimer 's disease , nervous diss , etc (ADA , 2001 , Turner , 2007 Guggenheimer 2003

Salvia helps in several of the oral functions including swallowing maintaining the integrity of the oral tissues , preventing microorganisms from invading , helping in the digestion process , action of several enzymes , etc . Besides , they help in several other functions such as speech , buffering action , preventing development of dental caries , etc It is produced by three major salivary glands (namely the parotid sub-mandibular and the sublingual gland ) and several minor salivary glands . The manner in which Xerostomia occurs may be different for each patient suffering from the condition . Some individuals may develop a disruption in the pathway for stimulation of the salivary gland . In other individuals , the salivary gland function is impaired due to degeneration of the gland (arising from radiotherapy , drug usage autoimmune diss , etc , resulting in diminished or absent production of saliva (ADA , 2001 , Turner , 2007 Guggenheimer , 2003

The severity of the symptoms varies depending on the extent to which the salivary secretion is decreased . Individuals suffering from Xerostomia may experience a range of associated symptoms . These symptoms usually develop as saliva , which is responsible for performing several functions...