Oral involvement in primary Sjögren syndrome

Sjögren's syndrome – an update for dental practitioners

“…Recent evidence indicates that over half of the patients with PSS experienced an oral symptom as their first manifestation of the condition. 2 However, PSS can also indirectly cause oral manifestations secondary to systemic involvement. An appropriate example is that of SS-induced thrombocytopenia manifesting as oral bruising or purpura.…”

“…PSS ultimately results in hypofunction and dryness of the mucosal surfaces, particularly of the eyes and mouth. 2 Secondary Sjögren's syndrome (SSS) has similar pathophysiology, signs and symptoms as PSS, but is associated with some forms of connective tissue disease such as Sjögren's syndrome (SS), an autoimmune, multi-factorial disorder, affects around 5% of females and 0.5% of males in the general population. The dental practitioner has a key role in recognising the clinical features of this condition, organising referral for specialist care and managing the oral health of these patients.…”

Queixas fonoaudiológicas e verificação da fala de indivíduos com diagnóstico de ardência bucal e xerostomia

“…Its autoimune condition causes chronic inflammation of the salivary glands, with incidence of a disorder in saliva's chemical components, causing a change in the quantity and quality of the saliva (17,18) . Xerostomia is the main manifestation of this syndrome (19) . Dry mouth can affect the oral mucosa as a whole (20) , but subjects also state that structures such as the lips (21) and the oropharynx (16,22) are also affected.…”

“…The presence of taste disorders can exacerbate oral discomfort and impair both the appetite and food intake, affecting the individual's quality of life (24) . Subjects also inform the use of strategies and/or medication in order to try to alleviate oral discomfort, to minimize the symptomatology (19,23) . Because xerostomia is related to multiple factors, and due to its frequent association with other oral symptoms, treatments have palliative effects and aim to reduce oral discomfort, in order to diminish the several complaints of individuals with dry mouth symptom (14,18,19,23) .…”

“…Many studies refer to the impact of dry mouth on speech, mastication and swallowing (14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(23)(24)(25)(26) , as well as on the voice (27) . Complaints referring to xerostomia are usuallly identified by means of questionnaires (15)(16)(17)19,23,25) .…”