Salivary secretion rate, pH, lactobacilli and yeast counts in diabetic women.

Saliva samples of 29 type I (insulin-dependent) diabetic women and 30 healthy women were analyzed and compared. Saliva secretion rate and mean pH were statistically significantly lower in diabetics. Lactobacillus counts were almost the same in the two groups, while the Candida albicans count was higher in diabetic women. In the diabetic group PI and OHI-S indices showed higher values as compared to the healthy control group, the difference being statistically significant (p less than 0.01). Studying the relation between the various salivary parameters, it was found that higher salivary secretion rate was associated with higher pH values and with a higher proportion of Candida-negative cases, while lower salivary secretion rate coincided with higher OHI-S and PI index values.