Evaluation of Unstimulated Salivary Flow and pH in Type I Diabetics Aged 6-16 years

Background: Diabetes mellitus Type I is the most common childhood metabolic disorder. There is evidence indicating that diabetics have different salivary flow and salivary compositions, as compared to non-diabetic individuals. This study investigated salivary flow and unstimulated salivary pH of Type I diabetics aged 6-16 years in comparison to the controls. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 children. Thirty children with Type I diabetes and ninety children as controls were matched with the diabetic group in terms of age and gender. Unstimulated salivary flow was collected by spitting method for 10 minutes and saliva pH was measured using a digital pH-meter. Salivary flow and pH were compared between two groups using chi-square and t-test. Results: The mean salivary flow of diabetic and non-diabetic children was 0.268±0.168 and 0.454±0.307 mL/min, respectively. The mean pH of saliva of diabetic and non-diabetic children was 7.19±0.611 and 7.37±0.466, respectively. The mean unstimulated salivary flow was lower in diabetic children as compared to non-diabetic pediatric cases, and this difference was statistically significant (P=0.002). Although diabetic children had lower salivary pH compared to their healthy counterparts, the difference between the two was not statistically significant (P=0.10). Conclusion: Diabetic children had lower mean unstimulated salivary flow, compared to non-diabetic children. Although diabetic children had a lower mean salivary pH than healthy children, this difference was not statistically significant.