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Preliminary results of moisture checker for Mucus in diagnosing dry mouth.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the ability of Moisture Checker for Mucus (MCM), a device which measures the weight percent of water content in the oral mucosal epithelium, for the diagnosis of dry mouth.


METHOD
Forty-three consecutive patients seen at the Dry Mouth Clinic of Tsurumi University were divided into two groups by the diagnostic criteria of hyposalivation defined by the stimulated salivary flow rate < or =10 ml per 10 min. The MCM values in the buccal, tongue and labial mucosa in each group were compared.


RESULTS
The value of the normal salivation group was significantly higher when compared with that of the hyposalivation group both in the buccal and tongue mucosa, P = 0.01 and P = 0.046, respectively.


CONCLUSION
Moisture Checker for Mucus has the potential to be a useful device in the screening of hyposalivation.