Method: The sample was composed by 23 patients of both genders, aged 12 to 19 years old, and treated at the Clinic for Adolescents of the University of Pernambuco, Brazil. The data were obtained in January 2014, through the collection of saliva and pH readings performed by the colorimetric method. The information related to oral health was obtained in the clinical records of adolescents, adopting the DMFT index.
Result: It was observed that the majority of adolescents (65.2%) had a pH in the normal range, but a significant portion (34.8%) had values equal to or below 6.0. Among adolescents with normal salivary pH the mean DMFT was considered medium caries attack (4.4) and among those with altered pH (= or <6), the caries attack was very high (9.6) by the standards defined by WHO. No association between the pH values and gender or age was observed.
Conclusion: It is concluded that around a third of adolescents had lower levels of salivary pH, being associated with dental caries attack.