This study was undertaken to detect the faculty of secretion of saliva from minor salivary glands by analyzing a color reaction on a test tape containing iodine and starch that was applied on the lower lip.
A study involving 63 patients with oral dryness, 7 patients with Sjogren syndrome, and 70 healthy individuals was performed.
A test tape (1 x 1 cm) containing iodine and starch was set on the mucosal area anterior to the labia frenulum for 30 seconds. Because the number of blue spots was considered to correspond to the number of ostia of the salivary gland on the lower lip that was examined, the number of blue spots occurring as a reaction of iodine and starch on the test tape was counted and was compared among three groups. In addition, the relationship between the histopathological findings and the number of spots was analyzed.
The average number of spots in the patients with oral dryness (4.52+/-3.18 [mean +/- SD]) was lower than that in healthy individuals (9.49+/-2.52, P <.01), and that in the patients with Sjögren syndrome (2.14+/-1.35) was the lowest among all groups in the study. Moreover, this reduction in the number of spots in those patients was accompanied by histopathological changes of the minor salivary glands.
These findings suggest that this simple, noninvasive method can be successfully used for the estimation of the faculty of secretion of saliva from the minor salivary glands.