Effect of Chewing Bicarbonate-containing Sugar-free Gum on the Salivary pH: An in vivo Study

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of chewing gum on the salivary pH and to compare the effect of chewing bicarbonate-containing sugar-free gum on salivary pH against that of standard sugar-free gum. The experiment was carried out on 30 volunteers aged 20-22 years (mean age = 21 years) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The test gum was sugar-free greenmint-flavored bicarbonate-containing gum and the standard control was sugar-free spearmint-flavored gum. The pH was measured immediately using pH strips. According to statistical analysis, the mean salivary pH of the bicarbonate gum at 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes is 6.9713, 6.5667, 6.4267, 6.3867 and 6.3233 respectively. There is decrease in pH from 0 to 20 minutes. According to Bonferroni, there was no significant difference in pH from 0 to 20 minutes, 10 to 20 minutes and 15 to 20 minutes, but there was a significant difference in salivary pH from 5 to 20 minutes (p = 0.014). The mean salivary pH of the standard gum at 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes is 6.8767, 6.6067, 6.4200, 6.4027 and 6.3000 respectively. There is decrease in pH from 0 to 20 minutes. According to Bonferroni, there was no significant difference in pH from 0 to 20 minutes, 5 to 20 minutes, 10 to 20 minutes and 15 to 20 minutes. Thus, the higher salivary pH achieved with chewing bicarbonate gum compared with a standard sugar-free gum may have important oral health implications. How to cite this article: Ballal RK, Bhat SS, Ramdas SS, Ballal S. Effect of Chewing Bicarbonate-containing Sugar-free Gum on the Salivary pH: An in vivo Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2016;9(1):35-38.