ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oral Health

Sec. Preventive Dentistry

Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/froh.2025.1620432

This article is part of the Research TopicAddressing Oral Health Disparities in Maternal and Child PopulationsView all 8 articles

Topical Fluoride and Regulation of Salivary pH in Peruvian Altiplano Schoolchildren: A Comparative Longitudinal Study

Provisionally accepted
  • 1Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno, Peru
  • 2Universidad San Martín de Porres, Chiclayo, Peru
  • 3Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza de Amazonas, Chachapoyas, Peru

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Saliva acts as a natural buffer, neutralizing the acids produced by bacterial metabolism. Maintaining salivary pH in a range close to neutrality is essential for enamel remineralization processes. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effect of different concentrations and formulations of topical fluoride on the regulation of salivary pH in schoolchildren from the Altiplano region of Peru. A quantitative, longitudinal, double-blind, randomized experimental design was employed. A total of 200 children aged 6 to 12 years who voluntarily agreed to participate were randomly and equally distributed into four study groups. To ensure homogeneous assignment, sociodemographic variables (sex, family type, age, number of siblings, and frequency of daily brushing) and clinical variables (caries severity and oral hygiene level) were controlled. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. The Shapiro-Wilk test assessed normality (p < 0.05), while Kruskal-Wallis test was used for between-group comparisons and the Friedman test for intragroup comparisons. Intragroup analysis revealed statistically differences in salivary pH at initial, post-brushing, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes and 24-hours measurements across all groups (Friedman's Test; p < 0.001). Between-group comparisons also showed significant differences in salivary pH at 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and at 24 and 48 hours (Kruskal-Wallis test; p < 0.05). In conclusion, the 5% fluoride varnish and fluoride gels (1.23% and 2%) demonstrated greater efficacy in regulating salivary pH, especially during the initial hours following application.

Keywords: Cariostatic Agents, Gels, Saliva, Sodium Fluoride, Fluorides, Topical

Received: 29 Apr 2025; Accepted: 30 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Mamani Cori, Calcina Asillo, Chino Mamani, Mendoza Quispe, Yucra Sardón, Arbildo Vega, Padilla-Cáceres, Quispe-Quispe and Coronel Zubiate. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Franz Tito Coronel Zubiate, Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza de Amazonas, Chachapoyas, Peru

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