ABSTRACT
To study the effect of brushing habits and salivary pH on caries status of dental students. A secondary aim was to promote awareness among the students regarding their oral health. A total of 90 first year dental students, [aged 18 to 21 years] belonging to middle/high socioeconomic class were questioned regarding their toothbrushing and eating habits and later subjected to estimation of salivary pH and oral examination. The subjects were divided into controls and diseased [carious] categories, the later further subdivided into three groups according to their DMFT indices. [expressed as mean+SD] The overall DMFT index was 1.71 and that in groups A, B and C was 1.75 +/- 0.59, 5.16 +/- 0.81 and 8.22 +/- 0.83 respectively. Brushing frequency decreased from 1.89 +/- 0.55 in controls to 1.50 +/- 0.54 in group B, but increased to 1.88 +/- 0.59 in group C. Likewise, the periodontal status was healthiest in group C. The salivary pH of controls was 7.29 +/- 0.47 and progressively fell to 6.55 +/- 0.39 in group C. Marginal differences were seen in the dietary pattern of controls and diseased subjects. Tooth brushing and salivary pH had a direct relation with dental caries; however, further studies are needed to emphasize the importance of salivary pH as a meaningful indicator of current or upcoming oral health problems