Reviving the Salivary Cells – Pathway to New Horizon.

ABSTRACT

The ability to speak, swallow, masticate, taste food, and maintain a healthy oral cavity is heavily reliant on the presence of saliva. Hyposalivation underlying xerostomia after radiotherapyis still a major problem in the treatment of head and neck cancer. As saliva possesses self-cleansing and antibacterial capability, hyposalivation is known to deteriorate periodontal status and increases dental disease. Furthermore, hyposalivation causes mastication and swallowing problems, burning sensation of the mouth and dysgeusia. Currently available treatments for dry mouth are prescription for artificial saliva, moisturizers, and medications which induce salivation from the residual tissue.2 Such management techniques do not address the source of the problem that is a lack of functional saliva-producing acinar cells. This review focuses the restoration of functional salivary glands with advancing modalities such as gene therapy, tissue engineering, and stem cells.