Dry Mouth

Guy Howard Carpenter is currently Reader in Oral Biology at King’s College London Dental Institute. Dr. Carpenter gained a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from QMW, University of London and was awarded his PhD from King’s College School of Medicine and Dentistry for work on parotid salivary glycoproteins. After undertaking postdoctoral research he became a Lecturer in Oral and Mucosal Biology at the Dental Institute of King’s College London in 2004 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2008. In 2010 Dr. Carpenter served as President of the IADR Salivary Research Group and President of the Pan European Salivary Research Group. He has acted as a consultant to several leading companies and has undertaken collaborative research with scientists across the world. Dr. Carpenter is the author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters and is a regular invited speaker at national and international conferences.

Background Topics: Introduction.- Salivary Secretion and Function. Causes: Diseases Affecting Salivary Gland Production.- Drug-induced Dryness.- Irradiation Effects. Symptoms: Altered Taste and Diet Associated with Oral Dryness.- Microbiology of Oral Dryness.- How Oral Dryness Impacts on Quality of Life. Diagnosis: Clinical Scoring Scales. Treatment: IMRT as Improved Irradiation Treatment.- Artificial Salivas.- The Beneficial Effects of Regular Chewing.- Future Treatments.