Research on the evaluation of salivary gland function

Assessment of salivary gland function plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of salivary gland disease. Currently, there are several ways to evaluate the salivary gland function including sialography, salivary gland flowmetry, radionuclide imaging,ultrasonography Doppler and MRI. The pros and cons of these different methods were reviewed and analysed. Nowadays, sialography and salivary gland flowmetry are less commonly used clinically. Doppler can be used for screening of salivary gland diseases. Radionuclide imaging is the clinically preferred method, and MRI is one of the most rapidly developing methods for the evaluation of salivary gland function. Proper selection of these methods can provide valuable information for the diagnosis and treatment of salivary gland diseases. (authors)