Challacombe scale

Challacombe scale
Dry mouth
PurposeTo identify and quantify dryness of the mouth

The Challacombe scale is a widely used diagnostic medical tool designed to produce a clinical oral dryness score (CODS) which quantifies the extent of dryness of the mouth, with the aim of making a decision of whether to treat or not, and to monitor its progression or regression.[1][2]

The scale can be used to assess salivary flow and therefore calculate a risk of dental caries.[3][4] In addition, it has a particular use in the assessment of dry mouth in Sjögren syndrome.[5]

Based on a 10-point scale of clinical physical findings, a score of one is least severe and 10 most severe.[4]

  1. ^ "The Challacombe Scale". www.bsdht.org.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2019.(subscription required)
  2. ^ Meurman, Jukka H. (2018). Translational Oral Health Research. Springer. p. 15. ISBN 978-3-319-78204-1.
  3. ^ Wilson, Nairn; Dunne, Stephen (2018). Manual of Clinical Procedures in Dentistry. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470670521.
  4. ^ a b Banerjee, Avijit; Watson, Timothy F. (2015). Pickard's Guide to Minimally Invasive Operative Dentistry. Oxford University Press. pp. 30–55. ISBN 9780198712091.
  5. ^ Odell, Edward W. (2017). Cawson's Essentials of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences. ISBN 9780702073892.