Managing the care of patients with Sjogren syndrome and dry mouth Comorbidities, medication use and dental care considerations

Background. As North Americans live longer, have more chronic conditions and take more medications, adverse oral events are likely to increase and aggravate the symptoms of Sjogren syndrome (SS). Methods. A total of 151 adults who self-reported having SS and who had a mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of 65.8 (11.5) years completed a survey that included questions about basic demographic information, current medical conditions, medications used (prescription and over the counter [OTC]) and the use of oral products to manage SS symptoms. Owing to the self-reporting process in our survey, the term SS in our study population represented a mixture of people with SS and people with dry mouth symptoms. Results. The mean (SD) number of daily medications recorded as prescription, OTC and oral care products were 4.9 (3.5), 4.5 (2.8) and 4.6 (1.4), respectively. Participants with four or more comorbid medical conditions (n = 74; 49.0 percent) had significant differences (P < .05) in oral symptoms compared with those who had fewer than four (n = 75; 49.7 percent). Participants who were taking fewer than four prescription and OTC medications daily (n = 61; 40.4 percent) has significant differences (P < .05) in voice hoarseness compared with those taking four or more prescription and OTC medications daily (n = 54; 35.8 percent). Conclusions. The survey results indicated that medication use and comorbid medical conditions demonstrated significant differences and may have had a substantial impact on the oral symptoms in adults who self-reported having SS. Clinical Implications. Given the prevalence of SS, obtaining an accurate and complete medical and pharmacological history has implications for dental practitioners because medication use and comorbid medical conditions have a significant impact on oral symptoms in patients with SS.