Abstract
Mucosal wetness (MW) reflects the layer of residual saliva that covers the oral mucosal surfaces. Objectives: to determine MW at different oral mucosa sites and to investigate the relationship between MW, Unstimulated Whole salivary flow rates (UWS) and clinical oral dryness score (CODS). Method: 100 dry mouth patients and 50 healthy subjects. MW was sampled with filter paper strips at four sites inside the mouth; Anterior Hard Palate (AHP), Buccal mucosa (BUC), Anterior Tongue (AT), Lower Lip (LL) and measured with a micro-moisture meter. Reproducibility was assessed by repeated sampling and diurnal variation was examined. Results: MW in healthy subjects showed site variation and means ± SD were; AHP (11 ± 11.7 µm), BUC (32 ± 14.8 µm), AT (65 ± 17.2 µm), and LL (25 ± 13.5 µm). Dry mouth patients with reduced UWS showed increased CODS. MW at all four sites was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in dry mouth patients compared with the healthy subjects. Reproducibility of MW measurement using the intra-class correlation coefficient showed agreement at different visits within subject. MW of the AT showed a positive correlation with UWS (p < 0.05). Conclusion: MW is a reliable measure of oral dryness and had a positive correlation with UWS.