DETERMINATION OF THE pH VALUE OF UNSTIMULATED AND STIMULATED SALIVA IN A GROUP OF PATIENTS WITH AND WITHOUT DENTAL EROSION
Aksu SAMET, Akgul OMERAGIC, Valentina VELKOVSKI, Sezen SAMET
Abstract
Saliva is the most important biological factor for the prevention of dental erosion. It begins to act even before the acid attack, by increasing the salivary flow rate in response to acidic stimuli. The actual acidity (pH) of the oral environment directly depends on the presence of mixed saliva. Knowing the physiological flow of saliva by measuring the pH of mixed saliva, it is proven that there is a wide range of these values, from the most acidic pH = 5.3 to the alkaline pH = 7.8. This study aims to determine the quantity of stimulated and unstimulated saliva and the pH value of saliva, and to correlate the obtained results between the control group without erosions and the examined group with erosive lesions of the teeth. To achieve the set goal, our research included 60 subjects of both sexes aged 18-40 years. For this purpose, we collected unstimulated and stimulated saliva using the spitting method. The pH value of saliva was determined using a potentiometric method with a pH meter. The results obtained in our study on the effect of reduced saliva pH show an irreversible loss of hard dental substance, which manifests itself as tooth erosion, which confirms our results. The data suggest that salivary stimulation is an effective method to enhance protective oral properties and that individuals in the experimental group may be more prone to an acidic oral environment. Although no significant differences in saliva volume were found between the groups, the pH difference in unstimulated saliva is both statistically and clinically relevant. The experimental group exhibits significantly lower pH in unstimulated saliva, indicating a more acidic oral environment, which may predispose to dental erosion and other acid-related conditions.
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