The correlation between pH and flow rate of salivary smokers related to nicotine levels labelled on cigarettes

Background: Saliva is a biological fluid in oral cavity that plays a role in maintaining the environmental balance and oral commensal. Nicotine of cigarettes has been reported as a predisposing factor for changing of pH and salivary flow rate, thereby changing in biological salivary components. Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the correlation between salivary pH and salivary flow rate in smokers with nicotine levels labeled on cigarettes. Methods: Purposive sampling was conducted involving 40 male smokers. Before participating, they filled a questionnaire related to the history of their smoking habit. Using a spitting method for 5 minutes their saliva was collected. Results: Result of Pearson correlation test showed that there was a significant correlation between smoking intensity and salivary flow rate of those smokers (r = -0.486 and p0.512). There was no correlation between nicotine levels labeled on cigarettes and salivary pH of those smokers (r = -0.216, p>0.181). Nevertheless, there was a significant correlation between salivary flow rate and salivary pH of those smokers (r= 0.686, p