Effect of rest and stress on saliva ph and dental caries

Abstract

Salivary fluid is an exocrine secretion consisting of approximately 99 percentage water, containing a variety of electrolytes (sodium,potassium,calcium,chloride,magnesium,bicarbonate,phosphate) and proteins, represented by enzymes, immunoglobulins and other antimicrobial factors, mucosal glycoproteins, traces of albumin and some polypeptides and oligopeptides of importance to oral health. Regulation of oral PH is an important function of salivary buffering systems including: the bicarbonate, phosphate, protein-based buffers system and urea. Stress is defined as a state in which homeostasis, as a dynamic balance of internal conditions necessary for the proper functioning of cells or the living organism as a whole is affected by the action of various factors-stressors. This study aim to find the effect of stress on saliva PH among healthy individual and its correlation with caries with incidence. Seventy five undergraduate dental students participated in this study at age (20-25) years. They were examined using DMFT index and asked to provide two samples of unstimulated whole saliva, the first sample at rest, normal circumstances and second after one week applying the Trier Social Stress Test -TSST, saliva PH and viscosity was recorded each time using saliva PH meters. The saliva PH mean at rest (6.90) and in stress (7.40).The P-value was 0.000(less than0.05)which indicates that there is a significant difference between saliva PH mean at rest and saliva PH mean in stress, saliva PH mean of males at rest (which was 7.4 which is the highest)with that of females(which was 6.9).