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.