Variations in the pH of sAliva of Five Individuals
1943; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 22; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1177/00220345430220020701
ISSN1544-0591
Autores Tópico(s)Dental Anxiety and Anesthesia Techniques
ResumoWhen searching the literature concerning the hydrogen ion concentration of saliva, one finds a great range of averages expressed in terms of pH and of methods used for its determination such as indicator paper, colorimetric and electrometric methods. The literature is very limited in referring to the use of the glass electrode to determine the pH of saliva. In Black's Operative Dentistry (1) is the statement that up to 1936 no extensive reports as to the pH of saliva by means of the glass electrode were available. Wessinger (2) determined the pH of saliva by means of the glass electrode and compared the readings with those obtained by the quinhydrone electrode, but no averages or statistics were made as he was interested only in comparisons. Also, 3 cases were listed by Wessinger in which 3 or 4 tests were made upon each individual, but no pH averages were given. Brawley (3) determined 6.75 as an average pH of 3404 cases, using the colorimetric method. He found that readings taken immediately after collections did not vary so appreciably as to warrant collecting saliva under oil, as suggested by Starr (4) and others. -Grossman and Brickman (5) reported that averages determined by earlier investigators varied greatly. Their own average (diurnal) was pH 6.7 and was determined with the quinhydrone electrode. No statistical analysis was made. These men reported, also, that while the pH level of saliva varied with different individuals, it was fairly constant in the same person. They tested 3 individuals twice at a 10 month interval. While comparing colorimetrically the pH of saliva with the incidence of caries, Swerdlove (6) gave 6.69 as the average pH of saliva of 351 people. His data were treated statistically. Although investigators have tested the pH of saliva of thousands of individuals, data pertaining to changes in the pH of saliva during the day are not numerous, and no reference was found dealing with repeated tests during the day upon a few individuals. The early work of Bunzell in 1923 (7) dealt in part with colorimetric determinations of several individuals made irregularly in the morning and in the afternoon for a few scattered days. Bunzell stated that he found no difference in the pH of saliva in the morning and afternoon. Grossman and Brickman (8) emphasized that while the salivary pH of individuals varied hourly and daily, it was fairly constant for each individual. A drop in pH occurred in saliva after eating, but returned to the original pH within an hour. These same men (5) reported no apparent drop in the pH of subjects who remained awake for 24 hours, but a definite nocturnal drop occurred if the
Referência(s)