Measurement of Oral Moisture on Oral Dryness Patients

• Published in: Geriatrics (Basel) Vol. 5; no. 2; p. 28
• Main Authors: Mizuhashi, Fumi, Koide, Kaoru, Toya, Shuji, Nashida, Tomoko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 30-04-2020; MDPI AG
• Subjects: measuring pressure; oral dryness; oral moisture; measuring pressure; oral dryness; oral moisture
• ISSN: 2308-3417; 2308-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/geriatrics5020028

Many elderly patients have oral dryness; thus, it is necessary to evaluate the oral moisture in a clinical setting. The aim of this study was to clarify the importance of controlling the measuring pressure of the oral moisture-checking device. The influence of the measuring pressure of the oral moisture-checking device was examined using agar under 10 measuring pressure conditions (Kruskal-Wallis test). Fifty-five oral dryness patients were examined the lingual moisture using the device with and without a tongue depressor. The tongue depressor was placed underneath the tongue to support it during the measurement. The mean value and the coefficient of variation of five measurements was evaluated (paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-ranks test). The agar moisture values changed according to the measuring pressure (
< 0.05). The lingual moisture value with the tongue depressor was higher than that without the tongue depressor (
< 0.05). The coefficient of variation with the tongue depressor was smaller than that without the tongue depressor (
< 0.01). The results of this study indicated that the measuring pressure of oral moisture-checking device influenced the measurement value, and it is necessary to support the tongue for the measurement of lingual mucosal moisture in a uniform manner.