Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 61, Issue 3, May–June 2016, Pages 161-162
Dental Abstracts

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Drugs and saliva secretion

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2016.02.045Get rights and content

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Background

With age come changes in various organs and systems of the body. In addition, older adults tend to take various drugs that have side effects and require adjustments to provide effective treatment and not overdose the patient. The combination of drug treatment and the body’s changes may alter salivary flow rates in older adults, resulting in dry mouth. Four 70-year-old Swedish cohorts were studied for the relationship between drug treatment and unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow.

Methods

The samples of the four cohorts selected for study amounted to a total of 1072 persons. The cohorts were born in 1901-1902, 1906/1907, 1911/1912, and 1930/1931. Each cohort was divided by how many drugs they were taking. Measurements included stimulated salivary secretion rate, unstimulated salivary secretion rate, and number of drugs the individual was taking. The types of drugs used were also recorded.

Results

Mean stimulated saliva secretion rate was 1.0 ml/min in women and 1.3 ml/min in men, with unstimulated secretion rates of 0.2 ml/min in both genders. All of the cohorts had the characteristic of having a significantly higher stimulated secretion rate for men than for women. The oldest and youngest cohorts had higher stimulated saliva secretion in both men and women compared to those in the middle cohorts. No significant differences between groups were noted for unstimulated saliva secretion.

Discussion

Most of the people included in the study had been taking drugs for a considerable period of time, with few taken for less than 1 month. The evaluation noted an association between the number of drugs taken and the stimulated secretion rate of whole saliva. Unstimulated saliva secretion was only affected in women who were taking four or more drugs. Low salivary secretion was found for cardiovascular drugs, antidepressants, and antipsychotics.

Clinical Significance

Dry mouth is associated with poor

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Johanson CN, Österberg T, Lernfelt B, et al: Salivary secretion and drug treatment in four 70-year-old Swedish cohorts during a period of 30 years. Gerodontology 32:202-210, 2015

Reprints available from D Birkhed, Dept of Cariology, Inst of Odontology, Box 450, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden; fax: +46 31 825733; e-mail: [email protected]

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