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Changes in salivary pH following consumption of different varieties of date fruits

Sondos B Alghamdi1, Rafi A Togoo1, Ghadah K Bahamdan2

  • 1Department of Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, King Khalid University College of Dentistry, Abha, KSA.

Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences
|August 23, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Date consumption slightly lowers salivary pH in children, but not to critical levels. This suggests that dates are safe for dental health and do not negatively impact salivary parameters.

Area of Science:

  • Oral health
  • Biochemistry
  • Pediatric dentistry

Background:

  • Date fruit consumption can alter saliva chemistry, including pH.
  • Understanding these changes is crucial for assessing oral health impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effect of consuming different date varieties on children's salivary pH.
  • To determine if date consumption poses a risk to dental health.

Main Methods:

  • 15 children (6-15 years) consumed specific date types (Safree, Nabtat Seif, Khalas, Sukkari, Segae) for 5 days.
  • Saliva samples were collected daily, at least 1 hour post-breakfast, and salivary pH was measured.
  • Grapefruit and cotton pellets served as positive and negative controls, respectively.

Main Results:

  • Consumption of Khalas dates resulted in the lowest mean salivary pH (6.26) 5 minutes post-stimulation.
  • All tested date varieties caused a decrease in salivary pH compared to baseline.
  • Salivary pH after grapefruit consumption was lowest; chewing cotton increased pH.

Conclusions:

  • Date consumption leads to a decrease in salivary pH, but it remains above the critical level for enamel demineralization.
  • These findings indicate that dates do not have adverse effects on salivary parameters relevant to dental health.
Abstract

Keywords:
Date fruitDatesSalivaSugarspH

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