Xerostomia in patients with Sjögren's syndrome

Abstract

Many health professionals consider that Sjögren's syndrome is a rare condition; however, the current medical literature regards Sjögren's syndrome as the second most frequent autoimmune disease after rheumatoid arthritis. The symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome are characterized by dryness and they may be unnoticed by medicine professionals, and even by the patients. Xerostomia is the initial symptom of this syndrome. The difficulties in the diagnosis and therapeutic management, as well as the devastating consequences conditioned by xerostomia for the oral health, motivated the execution of this review paper. A search in the Internet was carried out, looking up specialized databases, and having into consideration the articles published both in English and Spanish, preferably during the last five years. The study made emphasis on the oral manifestations that are caused by xerostomia derived from Sjögren’s syndrome and its therapeutic management. It was concluded that, concerning the dentist, the knowledge of the disease, the history taking, the thorough oral examination and the clinical presumption of the syndrome are key factors for the success in its early diagnosis and proper treatment. The latter includes promotion and prevention, as well as periodic follow-up due to the damage caused by this condition to the oral health and the quality of life of the patients.