Association of the DMFT Index to the Salivary pH Levels of Smoking and Non-Smoking Students of the Universidad Católica Santiago de Guayaquil

Abstract

Introduction: Dental caries is a disease of multifactorial etiology; and saliva is the first biological fluid to be exposed to the harmful components of tobacco; therefore, its exposure will produce changes of the salivary pH level in the oral cavity. Objective: To analyze the association of the decayed, missed or filled teeth index (DMFT) with the oral pH levels in smoking and non-smoking students, in order to determine the relationship between smoking and the prevalence of dental conditions. Materials and methods: A case-control study of simple random sampling, with young smokers and non-smokers from the UCSG Dentistry course, with good hygiene habits and without the presence of systemic diseases. The study groups underwent clinical inspections to determine the DMFT index and the unstimulated salivary pH level was measured with Macherey-Nagel® brand strips. Results: The study analyzed 237 individuals with good oral hygiene using the chi-square test, finding that smokers had a lower oral pH and slightly higher DMFT index compared to non-smokers. Although the association between the DMFT index and smoking habit was not statistically significant (p-value 0.07), a significant relationship between tobacco smoking and increased oral acidity was demonstrated (p-value < 0.001). These findings highlight the importance of considering the negative effects of smoking on oral health, particularly on oral acidity. Conclusions: The salivary pH levels of smokers is moderately more acidic. However, statistically, this acidity condition is not decisive to establish the correlation between smoking and an increase of the DMFT index.