Effect of 1% malic acid spray on diabetes mellitus‐induced xerostomia: A randomized clinical trial.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of topical sialogogue spray containing 1% malic acid in the treatment of xerostomia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Material and Methods: A randomized double‐blind controlled clinical trial was conducted on 52 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus suffering from xerostomia. Patients were assigned equally to test group who received a topical sialogogue spray containing 1% malic acid and control group who received a placebo spray. Both groups were instructed to use the spray on demand for 2 weeks. The Summated Xerostomia Inventory‐Dutch Version questionnaire (SXI‐D) and the unstimulated salivary flow rate were evaluated for all patients at baseline, 2 and 4 weeks after malic acid/placebo application. Results: At 2 week's follow‐up, the unstimulated salivary flow rate increased significantly from 0.059 ± 0.024 to 0.191 ± 0.064 and from 0.055 ± 0.026 to 0.078 ± 0.032 for test and control groups, respectively, with a statistically significant difference favoring the test group. SXI‐D scores showed a significant decrease from 10.73 ± 2.22 to 8.38 ± 2.28 in the test group (p < 0.05), while in the control group it decreased from 10.62 ± 1.75 to 10.23 ± 1.48 (p > 0.05). Conclusion: A sialogogue spray containing 1% malic acid increased the unstimulated salivary flow rate in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus suffering from xerostomia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]