Abstract
The aims of this study were to attest the reproducibility of the chewing gum test, to investigate the difference in salivary flow rates stimulated by different flavors of chewing gum, and to compare the reliability of the chewing gum test with that of the Saxon test when diagnosing Sjogren's syndrome (SS).
The reproducibility of this test was evaluated on 20 healthy volunteers. Three repeated chewing gum tests were performed on these subjects. There were no statistically significant differences among the three measurements for the respective volunteers.
Differences depending on the flavor of the chewing gum used were examined on 36 Sjogren's syndrome (SS) patients and 38 control individuals. Using three different kinds of chewing gum (gum base, mint-flavored gum, and plum-flavored gum), salivary flow rates were compared between the two groups. The chewing gums used in the current study are equally valid for diagnosing SS. On the other hand, the results seem to suggest that, when using gum base and mint-flavored gum to diagnose SS, an appropriate cutoff value would be 10ml/10min, but that with plum-flavored gum, an appropriate cutoff value would be 14ml/10min.
The chewing gum test was compared with the Saxon test on 34 SS patients and 28 control individuals. There was significant correlation coefficient between the chewing gum test and the Saxon test.
It was concluded that the chewing gum test is a reliable sialometric evaluation for diagnosing SS.
