%0 Journal Article
%T Salivary flow rate, pH, and concentrations of calcium, phosphate, and sIgA in Brazilian pregnant and non-pregnant women
%A Maria I Rockenbach
%A Sandra A Marinho
%A Elaine B Veeck
%A Laura Lindemann
%A Rosemary S Shinkai
%J Head & Face Medicine
%D 2006
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1746-160x-2-44
%X Cross-sectional study. Sample was composed by 22 pregnant and 22 non-pregnant women attending the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics, S£¿o Lucas Hospital, in Porto Alegre city, South region of Brazil. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected to determine salivary flow rate, pH, and biochemical composition. Data were analyzed by Student t test and ANCOVA (two-tailed ¦Á = 0.05).No difference was found for salivary flow rates and concentrations of total calcium and phosphate between pregnant and non-pregnant women (p > 0.05). Pregnant women had lower pH (6.7) than non-pregnant women (7.5) (p < 0.001), but higher sIgA level (118.9 mg/L) than the latter (90.1 mg/L) (p = 0.026).Some of the tested variables of unstimulated whole saliva were different between pregnant and non-pregnant Brazilians in this sample. Overall, the values of the tested salivary parameters were within the range of international references of normality.Hormonal changes in females may affect the physiology of the entire body including the oral cavity. Besides the direct effect on the metabolism of periodontal tissues, pregnancy, menstruation, and hormone replacement therapy may induce short-term changes in salivary flow rates, buffering capacity, and biochemical composition [1-5]. Changes in salivary composition and flow rates may compromise the integrity of the soft and hard tissues in the oral cavity, because saliva functions include food and bacteria clearance, mastication and digestion, lubrication, antimicrobial defense, and buffering effect [6,7]. Saliva is composed of water and organic and inorganic molecules, but a large intra- and inter-subject variability in composition is reported [2,6].Most studies focusing on the influence of pregnancy and hormonal alterations on salivary characteristics were performed in European countries, and some reference standards for normality [6,8] are derived from data obtained in specific populations. The Latin American literature on this topic is scarce. A prelimin
%U http://www.head-face-med.com/content/2/1/44