A Brief Xerostomia Inventory for Young Adults

Xerostomia (dry mouth) is a common condition that has primarily been studied among older adults and populations at high risk of dry mouth. This dataset focuses on developing a brief xerostomia assessment tool specifically designed for young adults. Data were collected between January and June 2025 with a cross-sectional survey from students ages 18-25 at two California (USA) public universities (N=285), including oral health behaviors and outcomes, one single global item of dry mouth, 14-item xerostomia inventory, overall health, medication use, 10-item Perceived Stress Scale, tobacco and substance use, sleep, height, weight, BMI, and demographic variables (race/ethnicity, age, and gender). The 14-item inventory was reduced to 5 items to measure xerostomia among young adults. Psychometric properties of the 5 items were examined. Associations were explored between inventory sum scores and other oral health conditions and potential xerostomia risk factors.<br><br><b>Project Citation:</b> Chaffee BW, Couch ET, Shiboski C, Hoyt LT, Cohen AK, Cheng J. A brief xerostomia inventory for young adults. <br>