Assessment of Salivary Flow Rate and pH Among Areca Nut Chewers and Oral Submucous Fibrosis Subjects: A Comparative Study

BACKGROUND: To assess and compare the salivary flow rate (SFR) and salivary pH among areca nut chewers, oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) patients and apparently healthy individuals. METHODS: A comparative study was conducted to assess and compare the SFR and pH among 135 outpatients (45 areca nut chewers + 45 OSMF + 45 control) at The Oxford Dental College and Research Hospital, Bangalore, India. Subjects were interviewed using structural proforma and Modified Schirmer strips and pH paper were implemented for assessing SFR and pH respectively. Statistical analysis was done using IBM SPSS ver. 21.0 software. RESULTS: A statistically significant increase in SFR (35.7 mm at 3rd minutes) among areca nut group and a decrease in SFR among OSMF group (23.4 mm at 3rd minutes) when compared to apparently healthy subjects (30.7 mm at 3rd minutes). The mean pH among areca nut, OSMF and control groups was 6.76, 6.82, and 6.74 respectively with no statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: The observation and findings of the study clearly showed hypersalivation among areca nut group and hyposalivation among OSMF group, with no significant change in salivary pH when compared to healthy subjects.