Salivary Profile of Recovering Illicit Drug Addicts in Rehabilitation Center of the National Narcotics Board

摘要

Drug abuse may cause some changes to the oral cavity, such as hyposalivation, alteration insalivary pH, and buffering capacity, which may lead to other oral problems. The purpose of thisstudy is to determine the salivary flow rate (SFR), pH, and buffering capacity in recovering drugaddicts. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 86 residents from the Hope and Re-entrygroups of the rehabilitation centre. The samples used were stimulated (SS) and unstimulated (US)saliva. Saliva was collected using the spitting method for a period of five minutes. Participantschewed paraffin wax prior to the collection of SS samples. SS was analysed for buffer capacity, andUS was analysed for pH. The mean values for the Hope and re-entry groups respectively wereUSFR (ml/min) 0.41 ± 0.17 and 0.45 ± 0.2; SSFR (ml/min) 1.39±0.59 and 1.21 ± 0.59; unstimulatedpH 6.86 ± 0.4 and 6.9 ± 0.4; stimulated pH 7.4 ± 0.3 and 7.3 ± 0.3; and buffer capacity 6.8 ± 2.8and 6.38 ± 2.7. Salivary buffering capacity, which was lower in the Re-entry group, might be relatedto SSFR, as salivary buffering capacity increased as the SFR increased, and vice versa. A historyof illicit drug use did not affect SFR or pH, since both groups had normal SFR and salivary pH.However, it may have affected salivary buffering capacity, as suggested by relatively low bufferingcapacity in both groups.