ISSN 2756-3421
African Journal of Dentistry ISSN 2756-3421 Vol. 13 (1), pp. 001-004, January, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Rinsing with Tap Water: A Comparative Study with Tooth Brushing and Sugar-Free Chewing Gum for Oral Hygiene
Narges Mirjalili1*, Mohammad-Hassan Akhavan Karbassi1 and Jaffar Farahman2
1Department of Oral Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
2Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Received 9 July, 2024; Accepted 10 December, 2024
Among all oral diseases, tooth decay still imposes the greatest burden on health care systems. While patients prefer less complicated and time consuming preventive methods, the effectiveness of rinsing mouth with water has remained in the shadow. A great number of people, whether professional or not, believe that water rinse can be helpful where tooth-brush is not available. This study aimed to investigate that belief. In this study in three different attempts the basal saliva pH of 60 participants and their saliva pH after introducing to sugar solution, brushing teeth, chewing xylitol gum, and rinsing mouth with water were recorded. Data analysis showed that tap water may not be of any help in correcting oral pH after an acidic attack.
Key words: Saliva pH, sugar-free chewing gum, mouth rinse, tap water, tooth brushing, xylitol.