Preliminary findings on the correlation of saliva pH, buffering capacity, flow rate and consistency in relation to waterpipe tobacco smoking

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of exclusive waterpipe smokers (EWPS, n = 36) and non-smokers (n = 36).

		EWPS	Non-smokers	Probability
Age (years)^a		23 ± 4	22 ± 3	0.68
		[21 to 24]	[21 to 24]
Quantity of used tobacco (waterpipe-years)^a		7.92 ± 3.72	0	-
		[6.66 to 9.18]
Remaining teeth^a		27.92 ± 0.28	27.83 ± 0.38	0.29
		[27.82 to 28.01]	[27.71 to 27.96]
Plaque index^a		1.41 ± 0.59	1.29 ± 0.69	0.42
		[1.21 to 1.61]	[1.06 to 1.52]
Decayed/missing/filled teeth^b		1.97 ± 0.36	1.81 ± 0.40	0.76
		[1.24 to 2.70]	[0.99 to 2.63]
Classes of plaque index^c	[0–1]	5 (13.9)	7 (19.4)	0.82
	[1–2]	19 (52.8)	18 (50.00)
	[2–3]	12 (33.3)	11 (30.6)

Data are: ^amean ± standard deviation [95% confidence-interval]; ^bmean ± standard error [95% confidence-interval]; ^cnumber (percentage).

*p < 0.05 (t-test): EWPS vs. non-smokers

^†p < 0.05 (chi-squared): EWPS vs. non-smokers

Figure 1. pH titration curve of exclusive waterpipe smokers (EWPS, n = 36) and non-smokers (n = 36). Data are mean (□ for non-smokers and ∆ for EWPS) and standard deviation (

). *Student’s t-test p < 0.05: non-smokers vs. EWPS for the same volume of HCl.​​​

Table 2. Flow-rate, buffering capacity and consistency of exclusive waterpipe smokers (EWPS, n = 36) and non-smokers (n = 36).

		EWPS	Non-smokers	Probability
Baseline pH^a		6.60 ± 0.37	6.76 ± 0.39	0.08
		[6.48 to 6.73]	[6.63 to 6.89]
Flow rate (ml min^–1)^a		1.81 ± 0.79	1.78 ± 1.14	0.91
		[1.54 to 2.08]	[1.40 to 2.17]
Categories of flow rate^b	≤0.7 ml min^–1	4 (11.1)	4 (11.1)	0.7
	>0.7 ml min^–1	32 (88.9)	32 (88.9)
Categories of buffering capacity^b	Low	14 (38.9)	3 (8.3)	0.0003^†
	Medium	18 (50.0)	15 (41.7)
	High	4 (11.1)	18 (50.0)
Consistency^b	Low	28 (77.8)	31 (86.1)	0. 35
	High	8 (22.2)	5 (13.9)

Data are: ^amean ± standard deviation [95% confidence-interval]; ^bnumber (percentage)

*p < 0.05 (t-test): EWPS vs. non-smokers

^†p < 0.05 (chi-squared): EWPS vs. non-smokers