Comparative Efficacy of Different Interventional Methods on Salivary pH.

Aim: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of four interventional methods (water rinsing, brushing with water, brushing with non-fluoridated dentifrice, and brushing with fluoridated dentifrice) in maintaining the salivary pH after an acidic surge.

Background: Salivary pH plays an important role in caries formation and progression; even though there are many interventional methods available for oral hygiene measures, not many studies reveal the potency of the various interventional methods after an acidic surge.

Materials And Methodology: Forty-three children of age group 4-5 years were selected for this study. The unstimulated saliva was collected using Dawe's method in sterile containers and pH was measured using color coded pH strips. The mean value was calculated, tabulated, and statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and paired -test.

Results: A significant increase was seen in the salivary pH, when brushing was performed using fluoridated and non-fluoridated tooth paste ( = 0.00) compared to that of brushing without dentifrice and water rinsing groups.

Conclusion: The study concluded that water can be used as an intermediate intervention to revert the salivary pH until a definitive intervention like toothbrush and dentifrice is available. Tooth brushing with dentifrice is the better home care interventional method to succumb the salivary fall.