title: Effect of yogurt and pH equivalent lemon juice on salivary flow rate in healthy volunteers - An experimental crossover study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Xerostomia is a common clinical problem, and different medications have been tried in its management. In the present study, routine dietary products are used to assess their effect on salivary flow.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the efficacy of yogurt and lemon juice on increase in salivation and its comparison with that of unstimulated saliva.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 40 volunteers (aged 19-48) were selected. The pH of yogurt was calculated, and equivalent pH lemon juice was prepared. First, normal resting saliva was collected as baseline followed by every 1 min for 5 min. Patients were given lemon juice or yogurt and then crossed over to the other group to assess the impact of the stimulants on salivary flow from 1 to 5 min.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results were analyzed statistically. Comparisons between baseline saliva secretion and that by yogurt and lemon juice (using the ANOVA test) showed that there was a significant increase after treatment at the end of the experiment for both yogurt and lemon juice. However, yogurt showed a significant increase in saliva secretion compared to baseline than lemon juice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that yogurt is a potential candidate for the treatment of dry mouth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, C.K.S. Theja Institute of Dental Sciences , Tirupathi, Andra Pradesh , India.
authors.forename: Jeevitha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murugesh
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, College of Dental Sciences , Davangere, Karnataka , India.
authors.forename: Rajeshwari G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Annigeri
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and maxillofacial Sciences, Al-Farabi College of Dentistry and Nursing, Al-Farabi College , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Syed Ahmed
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Raheel
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and maxillofacial Sciences, Al-Farabi College of Dentistry and Nursing, Al-Farabi College , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Saleh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Azzeghaiby
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, College of Medicine and University Hospitals, King Saud University , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alshehri
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and maxillofacial Sciences, Al-Farabi College of Dentistry and Nursing, Al-Farabi College , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kujan
keywords: dry mouth; lemon juice; pH; saliva; yogurt