An Explorative Study on the Effect of Honey on Salivary Parameters among Patients with Chronic Generalised Gingivitis

Abstract

Honey possesses potential therapeutic roles as an adjunctive treatment for gingivitis and periodontal diseases.In spite of the beneficial effects of honey on chronic gingivitis, its influence on salivary parameters has not been extensively researched. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of honey on the pH and buffering capacity of saliva among patients with chronic generalised gingivitis. Thirty patients with chronic generalised gingivitis were divided into “honey” and control groups through simple random sampling. Both groups received full-mouth scaling and polishing treatment but the subjects in the “honey” group had their gingivae coated with honey after that. The stimulated saliva of the subjects in both groups was collected before treatment, at the 15^th minute, and 30^th minute. The pH and buffering capacity of saliva were measured using the GC Saliva-Check BUFFER^{® (}GC Co., Japan).There was no significant difference in the salivary pH between the two groups (p=0.9) but the buffering capacity was significantly lower in the “honey” group than in the control group (p=0.02). Furthermore, there was a significant effect of time on the change of salivary pH (p=0.003).Acaciahoney led to a significant decrease in buffering capacity while affecting saliva pH levels mildly; nevertheless, the effects were transient.