Oral involvement

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the orofacial involvement in Sjögren syndrome (SS). Oral manifestations of SS are mainly xerostomia and hyposalivation, autoimmune sialadenitis causing salivary gland swelling, and secondary manifestations such as dental caries, oral candidiasis, bacterial sialadenitis, oral malodour, and oral ulcers. These secondary manifestations are the first features of the disease to become ­evident in approximately half of the patients with primary SS, and their identification is important for early diagnosis. Furthermore, as most SS patients consider oral complications a major factor of quality of life deterioration [1], their treatment should be a priority.