Effect of dentifrice containing salt on salivary sodium and chloride ions in prehypertensive patients

Objective: Clinical studies on dentifrices formulated with different ingredients typically examine the effects of their use on clinical parameters .However the systemic absorption & its implications on health usually go unexplored. Hence this present randomised controlled double blinded cross-over design clinical study compared the changes in sodium and chloride ions & blood pressure brought about by using a dentifrice containing salt in Pre hypertensive patients. Material and Methods: A total of 30 adults completed a 2 -week wash-out phase prior to providing baseline saliva samples. Subjects were then randomly assigned a test/control dentifrice to be brushed with twice daily for the next 28 days. On the 29th day, they arrived at the dental college prior to oral hygiene and provided saliva samples similar to that collected at baseline. An additional 2-week washout –out phase was assigned to subjects prior to completing the study with the alternate control dentifrice. Blood pressure was measured at baseline and 4 week periods. Results: Saliva sample analysis in ion selective electrode auto-analyser indicated statistically significant increase(p<0.05) in salivary sodium ions post 4 week usage of salt containing dentifrice as compared to no significant increase in both sodium and chloride ions post usage of control dentifrice. However chloride ions and the blood pressure in both groups showed no significant change from baseline in both groups. Conclusions: There is a significant increase in salivary sodium ions post 4-week usage of a dentifrice containing salt.