Characteristics of Saliva in FK Ukrida Students After Chewing Paraffin, Xylitol and Sucrose Gum

Abstract

Data from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia in 2009 shows that national sugar consumption per capita reaches 12kg / year. Snacks consumed mostly were based on sucrose sugar and it turns out that sucrose is increasing the insidens of caries because sugar-based foods and drinks cause acid-resistant bacteria to obtain a suitable environment for growth. To overcome this problem sucrose was replaced with alcohol sugar such as xylitol, especially in chewing gum. However, it is still unknown the effect of xylitol on saliva. The purpose of this study was to see whether there were differences in salivary characteristics after consuming paraffin, xylitol chewing gum and sucrose chewing gum by looking at salivary pH values, reducing sugar levels in saliva and salivary flow rates. Saliva collection is done by spitting method then the total volume is divided by the time of collection to get the flow rate of saliva. Salivary pH is measured using a pH meter while reducing sugar levels are measured using the Benedict's test. The sample for this study consisted of 50 Ukrida FK students. The results of this study indicate that the highest salivary flow rate is after chewing xylitol chewing gum. While the reducing sugar levels in saliva are only found after chewing sucrose chewing gum. For salivary pH values, after chewing sucrose chewing gum the most acidic pH was obtained when compared to after chewing paraffin and xylitol chewing gum. From the research that has been done, after consuming paraffin, xylitol chewing gum and sucrose chewing gum, the highest salivary flow rate was obtained after consuming xylitol chewing gum, while the lowest was after consuming paraffin. Meanwhile, the highest pH value of saliva was after consuming paraffin and the lowest was after consuming sucrose chewing gum. Meanwhile, reducing sugar levels in saliva was only found after consuming sucrose chewing gum and was not found after consuming paraffin and xylitol chewing gum. From this study it can be concluded that there are differences in the characteristics of saliva among FK Ukrida students after consuming paraffin, xylitol chewing gum and sucrose chewing gum.