Mozaffer Rahim Hingorjo, Sadiqa Syed, Shazia Hashmat, Masood A Qureshi.
The effects of brushing habits and salivary pH on caries status of first year dental students at a private Dental College in Karachi.
J Pak Dent Assoc Jan ;16(4):174-80.

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of brushing habits and salivary pH on caries status of dental students. A secondary aim was to promote awareness among the students regarding their oral health. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 90 first year dental students, (aged 18 to 21 years) belonging to middle / high socioeconomic class were questioned regarding their toothbrushing & eating habits and later subjected to estimation of salivary pH and oral examination. The subjects were divided into controls and diseased (carious) categories, the later further subdivided into three groups according to their DMFT indices. RESULTS: (expressed as mean + SD) The overall DMFT index was 1.71 and that in groups A, B and C was 1.75 ± 0.59, 5.16 ± 0.81 and 8.22 ± 0.83 respectively. Brushing frequency decreased from 1.89 ± 0.55 in controls to 1.50 ± 0.54 in group B, but increased to 1.88 ± 0.59 in group C. Likewise, the periodontal status was healthiest in group C. The salivary pH of controls was 7.29 ± 0.47 and progressively fell to 6.55 ± 0.39 in group C. Marginal differences were seen in the dietary pattern of controls and diseased subjects. CONCLUSION: Tooth brushing and salivary pH had a direct relation with dental caries; however, further studies are needed to emphasize the importance of salivary pH as a meaningful indicator of current or upcoming oral health problems.

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