Xerostomia, reduced salivary flow, and oral burning: Associations from a cross-sectional study

Objective. Determine the association between xerostomia, salivary flow, and oral burning. Study Design. A cross-sectional retrospective study involving consecutive patients with an oral burning complaint during a 6-year period. Treatments including a dry mouth management protocol (DMP) along with other therapies were implemented.Study vari-ables included xerostomia, unstimulated whole salivary flow rate (UWSFR), pain intensity, and medication use. Statistical analy-ses included Pearson correlations, linear regression, and Analysis of Variance.Results. Among the 124 patients meeting the inclusion criteria, 99 were female, with a mean age of 63.1 (range 26-86) years. The baseline UWSFR was low (0.24 0.29 ml../min) and 46% experienced hyposalivation (<0.1 ml../min). Xerostomia was reported by 77.7%, and 82.8% had coexistence of xerostomia and hyposalivation. DMP resulted in significant pain reduction between vis-its (P < .001).Conclusions. Hyposalivation and xerostomia were highly prevalent in patients with oral burning. A DMP proved beneficial to these patients. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol 2023;136:154-161)