Buffer Capacity of Saliva as a Function of Time after Consumption of Sugary, Sugar-Free and Probiotic Chewing Gums

Objective: To determine the time required for pH buffering by saliva after use sugary(S), sugar-free (SF) and probiotic (P) chewing gums. Material and Methods: Saliva was collected from 12 volunteer dental students at UNESP Sao Jose dos Campos / SP, in order to determine salivary flow (SR) rate and initial buffering capacity (BC). Participants presenting BC>4.0 were invited to continue the research. Participants chewed different types of gum for 3 consecutive days, and saliva was collected at 0-1min, 1-5min, and 5-10min intervals. The time required to neutralize saliva pH after chewing the different types of gum was analyzed by RM ANOVA and Tukey's test (5%). Results: RM ANOVA revealed significant influence on the interaction effect (chewing gum and time) (statisticFdf(4.66) = 4.027, p = 0.0055 <0.05). According to Tukey’s test, differences were observed in the following circumstances: for the 0-1 interval, BC of S differs from SF and P; BC of S differs from SF at 1-5 min and 5-10 min intervals; and, 0-1min interval differs from 1-5 min and 5-10 min intervals for both S and SF. Conclusion: Dentistry students showed no increased predisposition to dental caries with a specific type of chewing gum. Although time for pH recovery differed according to gum type, they were all above the critical range for enamel demineralization.