Journal of oral pathology & medicine : official publication of the International Association of Oral Pathologists and the American Academy of Oral Pathology
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Recently, oral sensory complaints (OSC) were proposed as a disease entity to represent idiopathic sensory disturbances of dry mouth, burning mouth, and taste disturbance, even though neither the status of OSC in the general population nor its underlying mechanism has yet been elucidated. Moreover, these three OSC-related complaints have not been assessed in combination by means of a visual analog scale (VAS) in a large-scale, community-dwelling population of a broad age range. ⋯ Hyposalivation may be a significant and common etiology for the three oral complaints, although the considerable prevalence of complaints without hyposalivation suggests other etiologies, including those related to the OSC.