Evaluation of buffer capacity of saliva in caries-free and caries-active children.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the physicochemical properties of saliva, such as buffering capacity, in caries-free and caries-active children.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

Eighty children aged 12-14 years were included in this study. They were divided into two groups: a caries-free and a caries-active group, with 40 children in each group. Material for biochemical testing of saliva--a sample was taken from all subjects at different time intervals: 5, 30 and 60 minutes after the daily meal. The examined parameters were followed in the same examinees in a sample of saliva taken in the morning before consuming any food or implementation of oral hygiene: they represent basic information compared with the results of the examination. The concentration of salivary bicarbonates was determined by the enzyme method of continuous measurement.

RESULTS

Salivary concentration of bicarbonates, measured fasting in the morning (basic values) in the caries-free group, ranging in limits from 6.60 to 9.70 mmol/l, and significantly lower values in the caries-active group (from 1.00 to 3.80 mmol/l). The same was the case with the concentration of salivary bicarbonates in different time intervals after taking the meal--5, 30 and 60 minutes in the examined groups. By increasing the time interval after taking a meal, the concentration of salivary bicarbonates continuously and significantly declined compared to its baseline concentration. The largest decrease of concentration of bicarbonate in terms of its basic value in both examined groups (caries-free and caries-active) took place during the 60 minutes after having the meal.

CONCLUSION

Salivary bicarbonates to maintaining the acidobasic balance of saliva, and thus affects the incidence of caries. The positive effect of salivary bicarbonates was confirmed by the values found in this study: the caries-free group presented a higher concentration of bicarbonate than the basic values. The value of bicarbonate in saliva in adolescents can serve as a parameter for determining the risk of caries, and this, in turn, can be used in the planning and implementation of appropriate caries-preventive measures.