The effects of high frequency, low intensity ultrasound therapy on parotid flow rates.

OBJECTIVES

Saliva plays a critical role in maintaining oral health and comfort. Development of a single device capable of simulating salivary flow with no taste or adverse side effects is desirable.

STUDY

DESIGN

This clinical investigation on 23 healthy volunteers with no dry mouth complaints evaluated the effectiveness of ultrasonic therapy in mechanical stimulation of the parotid gland to increase saliva flow. Stimulated and unstimulated parotid saliva was collected. Differences in mean salivary flow rates and affects of age and ethnicity were measured.

RESULTS

The mean difference between stimulated and unstimulated saliva flow rates was 0.009 mL/min +/- SD = 0.042, t (df = 22) = 1.27 with P = .31. There were no significant differences of age (P = .26), gender (P = .38), or race/ethnicity (P = .58) for the difference of stimulated and unstimulated conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicate that high-frequency low-intensity ultrasound therapy is not effective in stimulating salivary flow rates.