Changes in Oral Dryness of the Elderly in Need of Care—The Effect of Dentifrice with Oral Moisturizing Agents

The aim of this study was to find a method for the elderly to cope with xerostomia and oral dryness. In particular, we investigated whether daily oral health care with a dentifrice that included a moisturizing agent could affect oral dryness. The subjects were 10 elderly women (mean age was 80.1 years old) who resided in a nursing home and were using a dentifrice that contained a moisturizing agent for daily oral health care. After three months of the beginning of using a dentifrice, the participants were classified into 2 groups, 5 women who continued to use the dentifrice and the others who stopped using the dentifrice for two months. An oral dryness evaluation was carried out with an oral mucosal moisture measurement and a saliva wetness test at the beginning of use of the dentifrice, three months and five months later. The oral mucosal moisture measurement of buccal and tongue mucosa indicated a significant improvement after 3 months of continued use of the dentifrice. However, all participants who had stopped using the dentifrice reverted to their prior oral dryness condition after five months. In the dentifrice group there was almost no variation for two months. These results show that application of a dentifrice with an oral moisturizing agent could improve the oral dryness of the elderly. When the elderly stop using the dentifrice, multidirectional intervention could be needed for fundamental improvement of oral dryness and xerostomia.