LABORATORY TESTING OF UNSTIMULATED AND STIMULATED SALIVA BUFFERING CAPACITY IN PATIENT AND CONTROL GROUPS AFTER TITRATION WITH HCl AND NaOH

Introduction: Buffer capacity is the “resistance” of saliva to change pH when treated with acid or base. In other words, saliva has a greater buffering capacity to which more acid or base needs to be added in order for its pH to decrease or increase by a certain value. Aim: Laboratory examination of the buffering capacity of unstimulated and stimulated saliva in patients of the experimental group and subjects of the control group in relation to age and gender. Material and method: Determination of the pH value of saliva is done with a pH meter (HANNA instruments 8521). The obtained amount of saliva is diluted with distilled water. Each sample is divided into two equal parts, and the pH value of the sample is measured. Saliva titration is done with acid (HCl) and base (NaOH), adding 100μl of HCl to each sample and 100μl of NaOH to each sample, in the range from pH 3 to pH 11. Results: There is no statistical significance of the differences in the mean values of the buffer capacity. Conclusion: There is a difference in the mean values of the buffer capacity in favor of men, which explains that in men a larger amount of spent buffer is needed to change the pH by one unit.