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Dry mouth is a common disorder in elderly individuals. It is not, however, necessarily related to decreased salivary flow rate, since subjective feelings of oral dryness have also been found in those with normal flow rates. The aim of this study was to examine in elderly individuals the prevalence of subjective complaints related to dry mouth, and their association with salivary flow rates and the use of systemic medication. In 1990 and 1991, 368 elderly inhabitants of Helsinki, Finland, had their oral health status examined. In addition to the clinical examination, 341 subjects were interviewed regarding different oral and non-oral complaints related to dry mouth. Findings showed that 46% (n = 158) of the subjects had noticed subjective symptoms of dry mouth. Continuous oral dryness was reported by 12% (n = 40) of the subjects, 6% of the men and 14% of the women (p < 0.05). In these 40, the oral and non-oral symptoms were more frequent in subjects reporting continuous dry mouth compared with controls. Continuous dry mouth was clearly associated with the female gender, with mouth breathing and with the use of systemic medications.

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) refers to a group of additive manufacturing techniques that can be utilized in tissue engineering applications. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a 3DP method capable of using common thermoplastic polymers. However, the scope of materials applicable for FDM has not been fully recognized. The purpose of this study was to examine the creation of biodegradable porous scaffold structures using different materials in FDM and to determine the compressive properties and the fibroblast cell response of the structures. To the best of our knowledge, the printability of a poly(ε-caprolactone)/bioactive glass (PCL/BAG) composite and L-lactide/ε-caprolactone 75/25 mol % copolymer (PLC) was demonstrated for the first time. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed BAG particles at the surface of the printed PCL/BAG scaffolds. Compressive testing showed the possibility of altering the compressive stiffness of a scaffold without changing the compressive modulus. Compressive properties were significantly dependent on porosity level and structural geometry. Fibroblast proliferation was significantly higher in polylactide than in PCL or PCL/BAG composite. Optical microscope images and SEM images showed the viability of the cells, which demonstrated the biocompatibility of the structures.

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