Assessment of repetitive effect of change in salivary pH and sugar exposure on dentition status among tea vendors

Introduction: Tea is the most common beverage that is consumed by almost every strata of society. Tea, when consumed with sugar, is more detrimental and influences the onset of dental caries. Tea vendors consume tea many times a day that has a detrimental effect toward their oral cavity. Aim: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of salivary ph and sugar exposure on dental caries experience among tea vendors. Materials and Methods: In total, 30 tea vendors were selected who fulfilled the exclusion and inclusion criteria. Saliva sample was collected at three different time intervals (i.e., before tea preparation, 5 min after tea tasting, and 30 min after the last tea tasted). Salivary pH estimation was done using a portable standard digital pH meter. Sugar exposure was recorded using a questionnaire. The dental caries experience of the tea vendors was recorded using the WHO oral health assessment form for adults, 2013. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA and post hoc Tukey test, Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation were applied for analyzing data using SPSS vs. 16 (IBM, Chicago). Results: Mean and standard deviation of salivary pH at baseline, after 5 min, and after 30 min was 5.85 ± 0.58, 3.86 ± 0.524, 6.38 ± 0.396, respectively, which was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Mean sugar exposure among males and females were 8.36 ± 5.28 and 5.4 ± 1.6. Mean DMFT for male and female was 4.96 ± 5.054, 5.00 ± 2.449, respectively (P = 0.007). Positive correlation was found between number of years as tea vendors and dental caries experience (r = 0.737). Conclusion: Increased frequency of liquid sugar consumption led to repetitive pH drop of the saliva that had a positive correlation on the caries experience among tea vendors