Dental care professionals’ awareness of oral dryness and its clinical management: a questionnaire-based study

Abstract Background Despite the high prevalence of oral dryness and awareness of its complications, there is limited research on the clinical management of patients with oral dryness in general dental care. Purpose To (1) describe and compare awareness among dental care professionals regarding saliva functions, potential causes and complications of oral dryness, and patient management (2) Investigate if the length of professional experience influences these aspects. Methods A digital self-administrated survey was sent to 2668 dental care professionals working in the general dental care, Public Dental Service, in Sweden. Twelve dental care professionals reviewed the questionnaire prior to its distribution. The questionnaire comprised 32 questions about patient management, awareness of saliva functions, causes and complications of oral dryness, and self-assessment queries. Results The response rate was 18.6% (241 dentists and 257 dental hygienists). Older adults (65+) were asked more often about dry mouth (93.0%) compared to those aged 18–23 years (50.0%) and those under 18 years (24.9%). Dental hygienists encountered individuals with oral dryness more frequently (61.1%) than dentists (48.5%) (p