Publication:

The effect of tooth brushing before and after eating on salivary pH of elementary school students

Background According to studies in Asian countries, including Indonesia, 80-90% of children under the age of 18 are affected by dental caries. Dental caries is caused by factors: food, bacteria, teeth and saliva. The state of saliva that is acidic, at a pH of 5.5 will result dental caries. To overcome the overly acidic condition, brushing teeth right after eating and before sleeping is necessary. Brushing teeth properly and correctly can increase salivary pH and it help the remineralization process of small lesions in the enamel layer.

Methods This research was conducted using pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental with control group design. The sample is all students of Nglahar public elementary school, Sumbersari, Moyudan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, with a total of 85 students using total sampling technique. The data was collected with examine the effect of brushing teeth before and after eating on the salivary pH.

Results The elementary school students’ salivary pH was 7.59 (alkaline) when the students brushed their teeth before eating, whereas tooth brushing within 20 minutes after eating resulted in elementary school students’ salivary pH of 7.82 (alkaline). This showed that brushing the teeth 20 minutes after eating can return salivary pH as before eating.

Conclusions Brushing teeth 20 minutes after eating can increase the salivary pH as a before eating.