The incidence of oral dryness in people over 65 years living in Lublin

Saliva plays an important part in naturally maintaining oral homeostasis. Dry mouth or 'xerostomia', is a serious problem connected with decreased saliva secretion which considerably limits the quality of life in elderly people. The aim of the study was the assessment of the subjective oral dryness in the oral mucosa in people over 65 living in Lublin, Poland. The study was conducted among 240 people aged 65 to 96. The patients were placed into two groups: I - 117 residents of nursing homes, II - 123 people living with their families. Assessment of the subjective oral dryness taking into account the place of residence, sex and drug administration was performed based on a questionnaire survey. In the group of nursing homes residents, 32.48% of the surveyed experienced subjective oral dryness, while among the seniors living with their families, 33.33% reported this kind of discomfort. The conducted analysis revealed that oral dryness was more common amongst women than men, and it can be very often a side-effect of administered medicine drugs.