Introduction

Saliva is an imperative watery liquid which is secreted by glands, providing lubrication for chewing, swallowing and aiding in digestion. Saliva acts as a ‘mirror of the body’s health’. Majorly constituted by the secretions of three paired major salivary glands: parotid, submandibular and sublingual. It also contains the secretions of the minor salivary glands.1 This critical fluid acts as a lubricant to keep the mouth moist, helps in appreciation of taste, a cleanser by protecting the mouth and teeth free of food debris and the digestive enzymes help in digestion of the food to some extent.2

Xerostomia, commonly referred to as dry mouth, is defined as the reduced or mere absence of salivary flow. It may be described as a subjective sensation of dryness of the oral mucous membrane but not always associated with the objective evidence of significantly decreased salivary flow.3 Xerostomia is however not a disease by itself; it is an indicator of various medical conditions (autoimmune disorders), as an aftereffect of radiation to the head and neck region, or a side effect of a wide variety of medications. Few other non-specific causes are mouth breathing, nasal destruction, smoking, stress anxiety, and so on.4 One another major reason contributing to hyposalivation is physiological changes at old age. Ageing causes atrophy of salivary glands which further leads to hypofunction causing a decrease in salivary flow.5 6

Treatment strategies for xerostomia include use of lubricants, salivary substitutes, saliva replacement gels, and so on. Medication includes sialagogues (pilocarpine and cevimeline) but has its own side effects. And …