The effect of unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva on extrinsic staining in vitro--a developmental method.

Objectives: To detect any differences in the propensity of unstimulated and stimulated, individual whole saliva to cause in vitro staining by chlorhexidine and tea.

Methods: Unstimulated and stimulated human saliva was collected on a daily basis and used to coat optically clear acrylic specimens. Specimens were subjected to an established chlorhexidine/tea staining model in vitro shown to correlate well with in vivo staining, and cycles repeated until an optical density of <2 was reached.