Aim:

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of salivary flow rate and salivary pH on dental caries in children.

Materials and Methods:

One hundred eighty children ages ranging from 5 to 13 years who were admitted to Pediatric Dental Clinic of Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Medicine Hospital were included in the study. A questionnaire about age, gender, frequency of tooth brushing and their mother’s education status was filled in by all of the patients. The patients were divided into 3 groups, each consisting of 60 patients according to their ages (5-7, 8-10 and 11-13 years). These three groups were allocated to the 20-person groups as group 1 (control with no tooth decay), group 2 (1-5 tooth decay) and group 3 (6 or more tooth decay). Children’s saliva samples were taken in the morning between 9:00-10:00 hours and their salivary pH and flow rates were measured.

Results:

Of the 180 patients 49.44% were females and 50.55% were males. There were no statistical difference among gender and the number of decayed teeth, salivary pH, and the flow rate. A negative correlation was determined among the saliva flow rate, saliva pH and dental caries in all age groups (p<0.001). Also a positive correlation was observed between saliva pH value and saliva flow rate in all age groups (p<0.001). A negative correlation was observed between the frequency of brushing and caries and the difference was significant (p<0.001), but there was no correlation between the number of decayed teeth and mother’s education status (p<0.354). When the relationship between the groups (5-7, 8-10 and 11-13 years) was analyzed a statistically significant difference with dental caries and saliva pH was detected (p<0.004, p<0.004, p<0.001, respectively). Likewise, considering the relationship between the dental caries and salivary flow rate between the ages of 5-7, 8-10 and 11-13, a statistically significant difference (p<0.002, p<0.028, p<0.001, respectively) was observed.

Conclusion:

It was observed that as the number of dental caries increases in children, the saliva pH and saliva flow rates decrease.

Keywords: Children, saliva flow rate, saliva pH, dental caries