Salivary flow, saliva, pH and buffering capacity in 70-year-old men and women. Correlation to dental health, dryness in the mouth, disease and drug treatment.

A representative systematic selection of 30% of all 70-year-olds (1148 persons) in Göteborg were invited to a population study. The participation rate was 85%. Sixteen per cent of the men and 25% of the women reported dryness in the mouth (sex. diff. P less than 0.01). There was a significant correlation between the number of drugs consumed by the subjects and subjective dryness (in both sexes P less than 0.001). Intake of drugs from the groups of anticholionergics, antihistamines, sedatives, hypnotics or phenothiazines respectively seemed to have the highest predicative value for dryness in the mouth (men P less than 0.05 and women P less than 0.01). There was also a positive correlation between subjective dryness and number of definable diseases in both sexes (P less than 0.01). In a consecutive sample (fifty-eight men and fifty-three women) a study of salivary flow, direct pH and buffer effect were performed. The mean value of unstimulated salivary secretion was in men 0.25 and in women 0.18 ml/min. Corresponding figures for stimulated secretion was 1.65 and 1.04 ml/min (sex. diff. P less than 0.01). A significantly lower unstimulated secretion was noted in women with subjective dryness (P less than 0.01). A negative significant correlation were found between dental invalidity, according to Eichner's classification, and stimulated secretion when drug treatment had been considered (men P less than 0.05 and women P less than 0.01). Only weak relations were noted between salivary secretions and drug treatment. Only intake of drugs with diuretic effect were negatively correlated to stimulated secretion (P less than 0.01). Diseases of the circulatory system were correlated to subjective dryness (P less than 0.01).