Drug effects on salivary glands: dry mouth.

OBJECTIVE

To identify drugs associated with the complaint of dry mouth.

METHODS

MEDLINE was searched for papers 1980-2002 using keywords, oral, mouth, salivary, drugs, dry mouth and xerostomia, and relevant secondary references were hand-searched.

RESULTS

Evidence was forthcoming for a number of xerogenic drugs, especially antimuscarinic agents, some sympathomimetic agents, and agents affecting serotonin and noradrenaline uptake, as well as a miscellany of other drugs such as appetite suppressants, protease inhibitors and cytokines.

CONCLUSIONS

Dry mouth has a variety of possible causes but drugs--especially those with anticholinergic activity against the M3 muscarinic receptor--are the most common cause of reduced salivation.