The etiology, diagnosis and treatment of sialorrhea

Sialorrhea is a group of symptoms characterized by excessive accumulation of saliva in the mouth and un-conscious overflow from the mouth. It can be divided into physiological sialorrhea and pathological sialorrhea. The etiology of sialorrhea is complex. Local oral factors, systemic diseases, drug induction or psycho-physiological factors can lead to excessive saliva secretion or excessive saliva storage in the mouth, which can lead to sialorrhea. Physiological sialorrhea generally does not require treatment, while different treatment strategies are needed in cases of pathological sialorrhea. There are many treatments for sialorrhea, including oral and maxillofacial system training, drugs, botulinum toxin injection, surgical treatment, and less commonly, traditional Chinese medicines, radiotherapy and neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy. For different patients, different treatment methods should be adopted, and the treatment should be gradual. To correct the abnormalities in the oral and maxillofacial regions, the primary disease should be treated, contact with/the use of substances inducing salivation should be stopped, or psychological treatment should be administered, combined with oral and maxillofacial system training; if the effect is not good, invasive treatment, such as surgery, should be considered. At present, there are no unified, clear diagnostic criteria or simple and effective treatments in the clinic. In this paper, the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of sialorrhea, combined with our group′s many years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of sialorrhea, are reviewed to provide a useful reference for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of sialorrhea.