Sethi Kavleen K, Srivastava Sunita, Sinha Abhishek, Mishra Anuj, Iqbal Haider, Srivastava Tanmay
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Sardar Patel Postgraduate Institute of Dental and Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Indian J Community Med. 2025 Aug;50(Suppl 1):S70-S75. doi: 10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_704_23. Epub 2024 Nov 8.
Saliva is a complicated secretion of the oral cavity and is the first fluid to be exposed to the toxic components of tobacco products. Saliva undergoes structural and functional changes due to tobacco use throughout time. As a result, measurements of salivary flow rate (SFR) and pH were made in subjects with habit of smokeless, smoked, and combined forms of tobacco habits.
The study was conducted in a dental institute. Subjects with the habit of smoking, smokeless, and combined forms of habits were included in this study. Schirmer tear strips and pH strips were used to assess SFR and pH.
On comparison of SFR between control and habit groups, a statistically significant reduction of SFR was observed in habit groups. On comparison of salivary pH, a statistically significant decrease was observed in smokeless and smoked form of tobacco usage group when compared with the control group. Duration, frequency, and exposure also alter SFR and pH. Significant gradual decline in resting salivary flow rate levels with increase in duration of tobacco usage and increase in number of packs consumed/day was observed.
The role of salivary flow and pH is to maintain oral and dental health. Based on the results of this study, we concluded that long-term habits, whether smokeless, smoking, or combined tobacco habit, significantly reduce SFR and pH. These alterations can render oral mucosa more vulnerable to various oral diseases.
唾液是口腔的一种复杂分泌物，是最先接触烟草制品有毒成分的液体。随着时间推移，由于使用烟草，唾液会发生结构和功能变化。因此，对有无烟、吸烟及混合形式烟草使用习惯的受试者进行了唾液流速（SFR）和pH值测量。
该研究在一家牙科机构进行。本研究纳入了有吸烟、无烟及混合形式习惯的受试者。使用Schirmer泪液试纸条和pH试纸条来评估SFR和pH值。
在对照组和习惯组之间比较SFR时，习惯组的SFR出现了统计学上的显著降低。在比较唾液pH值时，与对照组相比，无烟和吸烟形式的烟草使用组出现了统计学上的显著下降。使用时长、频率和接触情况也会改变SFR和pH值。观察到随着烟草使用时长的增加以及每天消耗烟包数量的增加，静息唾液流速水平显著逐渐下降。
唾液流速和pH值的作用是维持口腔和牙齿健康。基于本研究结果，我们得出结论，长期习惯，无论是无烟、吸烟还是混合烟草习惯，都会显著降低SFR和pH值。这些变化会使口腔黏膜更容易患上各种口腔疾病。
