Title
Effect of menopause on salivary parameters and dental caries status: A comparative study
Authors
Ashwini Gaikwad, Aniket Jadhav*, Rajlaxmi Patil, Abhijit Jadhav& Shivani Chavan
Affiliation
Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University Dental College & Hospital, Pune, Maharashtra, India; *Corresponding author
Ashwini Gaikwad - E-mail: ashwini.gaikwad@bharatividyapeeth.edu
Aniket Jadhav - E-mail: aniket.jadhav@bharatividyapeeth.edu
Rajlaxmi Patil - E-mail: rajlaxmi.patil@bharatividyapeeth.edu
Abhijit Jadhav - E-mail: abhijit.jadhav@bharatividyapeeth.edu
Shivani Chavan - E-mail: shivani.chavan@bharatividyapeeth.edu
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received March 1, 2026; Revised March 31, 2026; Accepted March 31, 2026, Published March 31, 2026
Abstract
Some researchers reported decreased salivary flow in post-menopausal women. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate salivary pH, buffering capacity, salivary flow rate and ICDAS scores in pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women to assess their impact on oral health. Hence, 32 healthy women were included, with 16 pre-menopausal women (mean age 26 years) serving as the control group and 16 post-menopausal women (mean age 52 years) forming the study group. Saliva collection was standardized and salivary flow rate, pH and buffering capacity were measured using established methods, while ICDAS scores were assessed clinically. The results demonstrated a reduction in salivary flow rate and pH in post-menopausal women, along with higher ICDAS scores compared to the control group, although buffering capacity remained within normal limits. Thus, we show that decreased salivary flow in post-menopausal women may contribute to increased dental caries risk.
Keywords
Buffering capacity, ICDAS, post menopause, salivary flow rate, salivary pH
Citation
Gaikwad et al. Bioinformation 22(3): 1550-1554 (2026)
Edited by
P Babaji
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
