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CC BY 4.0 · Eur J Dent 2025; 19(04): 979-984
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1795076
Original Article

Oral Conditions, Salivary pH, Flow Rate, Phosphate Level, and Phosphorus Intake of Pre- and Postmenopausal Women

Authors

  • Sri Tjahajawati

    1   Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia

  • Anggun Rafisa

    1   Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia

  • Namira Vahra Khairunnisa Aldrin

    2   Bachelor of Dentistry Study Program, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia

  • Hening Tjaturina Pramesti

    1   Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
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Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate salivary parameters, including pH, flow rate, phosphate levels, and phosphorus intake, to explore potential variations between postmenopausal and premenopausal women.

Material and Methods

This study included 68 postmenopausal and 94 premenopausal women. Inclusion criteria comprised women aged 45 to 65 years with a minimum menopausal duration of 2 years and women aged 21 to 40 years for premenopausal participants. Exclusion criteria involved systemic diseases and any dental treatments received in the last 6 months. Direct observation facilitated the visual detection of intraoral inflammation, ulcers, plaque, calculus, dental mobility, and caries. A questionnaire covering demographic data, dental pain, xerostomia, burning sensation, ulcer etiology and duration, and gingival bleeding etiology was administered. Phosphorus intake was assessed using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Unstimulated whole saliva, collected by spitting, was analyzed for various salivary parameters, such as pH, flow rate, and phosphate level. The atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine subjects' salivary phosphate level.

Statistical Analysis

The difference in intraoral conditions between groups was analyzed using the chi-square or Fisher's exact test. For the comparison of salivary parameters and phosphorus intake between study groups, the ANOVA: univariate general linear model was utilized. The correlation between salivary phosphate levels and age, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and phosphorus intake was examined using Spearman's rank correlation.

Results

The postmenopausal group demonstrated a significantly higher prevalence (p < 0.005) of gingival swelling, gingival discoloration, gingival recession, plaque, calculus, caries, tooth mobility, xerostomia, and burning sensation. Following adjustments for age, BMI, and blood pressure, a statistically significant difference in salivary flow rate between groups was observed (p = 0.008). No significant differences were found in salivary pH (p = 0.764), salivary phosphate level (p = 0.142), or phosphorus intake (p = 0.323) between the two groups. There was no significant correlation between salivary phosphate levels and age (p = 0.747), BMI (p = 0.308), systolic blood pressure (p = 0.747), diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.622), and phosphorus intake (0.829) in both groups.

Conclusion

Postmenopausal women exhibited a lower salivary flow rate compared with premenopausal women. No differences or correlations were observed in salivary phosphate level and phosphorus intake between the two groups.

Keywords

intraoral conditions - saliva - pH - flow rate - phosphate level - phosphorus intake - menopause

Ethical Approval

All patients received comprehensive information regarding the study procedures and provided their informed consent by signing a consent statement. This study obtained ethical clearance from the Research Ethics Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran (No. 181/UN6.KEP/EC/2022).


Data Availability Statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available upon reasonable request from the authors.




Publication History

Article published online:
10 December 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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