A pilot study comparing three salivary collection methods in an adult population with salivary gland hypofunction.

The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the reliability of three collection methods (draining, chewing of gum base, and the Saxon test) for whole saliva using a sample of middle-aged and older ambulatory adults (n = 18) with proven salivary gland hypofunction. The results demonstrated high reliability (r values ranging from 0.91 to 0.80, p < 0.001) for all three methods. MANOVA analysis revealed significant (p < 0.001) differences in flow rates among the draining, chewing-stimulated, and Saxon methods.