The influence of age in the speed of salivary flow in adults

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to verify the changes in salivary flow in healthy adults, aiming at correlate these data with age and dental status. Methods: 100 patients aging between 20 and 59 years who were being treated in the Dental Clinics of UFMA were selected. Samples of total saliva were obtained by the method of stimulated saliva collection, and dental condition was assessed by using the DMFT index. The results were submitted to Chi-square (= 0.05) and the Pearson’s correlation Test (= 0.01). Results: It was observed that the reduction of salivary flow does not depend on the age group of healthy patients when divided into young and meddle-aged adults. However, there was significant negative correlation between age and sialometry, as well as between the DMFT and sialometry. Significant positive correlation was found between age and DMFT of healthy adult patients. Conclusion: Therefore, it is concluded that there is an inverse tendency between the variables age and sialometry in healthy adults, not characterizing, however, an association between age and stimulated salivary flow. Key words: Saliva. Dry mouth. Age groups.