Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, ISSN - 0973 - 709X

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On Sep 2018




Prof. Somashekhar Nimbalkar

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Prof. Somashekhar Nimbalkar
Head, Department of Pediatrics, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad
Chairman, Research Group, Charutar Arogya Mandal, Karamsad
National Joint Coordinator - Advanced IAP NNF NRP Program
Ex-Member, Governing Body, National Neonatology Forum, New Delhi
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Department of Pediatrics, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, Anand, Gujarat.
On Sep 2018




Dr. Kalyani R

"Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research is at present a well-known Indian originated scientific journal which started with a humble beginning. I have been associated with this journal since many years. I appreciate the Editor, Dr. Hemant Jain, for his constant effort in bringing up this journal to the present status right from the scratch. The journal is multidisciplinary. It encourages in publishing the scientific articles from postgraduates and also the beginners who start their career. At the same time the journal also caters for the high quality articles from specialty and super-specialty researchers. Hence it provides a platform for the scientist and researchers to publish. The other aspect of it is, the readers get the information regarding the most recent developments in science which can be used for teaching, research, treating patients and to some extent take preventive measures against certain diseases. The journal is contributing immensely to the society at national and international level."



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Sri Devaraj Urs Academy of Higher Education and Research , Kolar, Karnataka
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Professor and Head
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Saraswati Dental College
Lucknow
On Sep 2018




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Calcutta National Medical College & Hospital , Kolkata




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On Aug 2018




Dr. Arundhathi. S
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Dr. Arundhathi. S
MBBS, MD (Pathology),
Sanjay Gandhi institute of trauma and orthopedics,
Bengaluru.
On Aug 2018




Dr. Mamta Gupta,
"It gives me great pleasure to be associated with JCDR, since last 2-3 years. Since then I have authored, co-authored and reviewed about 25 articles in JCDR. I thank JCDR for giving me an opportunity to improve my own skills as an author and a reviewer.
It 's a multispecialty journal, publishing high quality articles. It gives a platform to the authors to publish their research work which can be available for everyone across the globe to read. The best thing about JCDR is that the full articles of all medical specialties are available as pdf/html for reading free of cost or without institutional subscription, which is not there for other journals. For those who have problem in writing manuscript or do statistical work, JCDR comes for their rescue.
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Reviewing articles is no less a pain staking process and requires in depth perception, knowledge about the topic for review. It requires time and concentration, yet I enjoy doing it. The JCDR website especially for the reviewers is quite user friendly. My suggestions for improving the journal is, more strict review process, so that only high quality articles are published. I find a a good number of articles in Obst. Gynae, hence, a new journal for this specialty titled JCDR-OG can be started. May be a bimonthly or quarterly publication to begin with. Only selected articles should find a place in it.
An yearly reward for the best article authored can also incentivize the authors. Though the process of finding the best article will be not be very easy. I do not know how reviewing process can be improved. If an article is being reviewed by two reviewers, then opinion of one can be communicated to the other or the final opinion of the editor can be communicated to the reviewer if requested for. This will help one’s reviewing skills.
My best wishes to Dr. Hemant Jain and all the editorial staff of JCDR for their untiring efforts to bring out this journal. I strongly recommend medical fraternity to publish their valuable research work in this esteemed journal, JCDR".



Dr. Mamta Gupta
Consultant
(Ex HOD Obs &Gynae, Hindu Rao Hospital and associated NDMC Medical College, Delhi)
Aug 2018




Dr. Rajendra Kumar Ghritlaharey

"I wish to thank Dr. Hemant Jain, Editor-in-Chief Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR), for asking me to write up few words.
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium i e; into the words and sentences on paper. Quality medical manuscript writing in particular, demands not only a high-quality research, but also requires accurate and concise communication of findings and conclusions, with adherence to particular journal guidelines. In medical field whether working in teaching, private, or in corporate institution, everyone wants to excel in his / her own field and get recognised by making manuscripts publication.


Authors are the souls of any journal, and deserve much respect. To publish a journal manuscripts are needed from authors. Authors have a great responsibility for producing facts of their work in terms of number and results truthfully and an individual honesty is expected from authors in this regards. Both ways its true "No authors-No manuscripts-No journals" and "No journals–No manuscripts–No authors". Reviewing a manuscript is also a very responsible and important task of any peer-reviewed journal and to be taken seriously. It needs knowledge on the subject, sincerity, honesty and determination. Although the process of reviewing a manuscript is a time consuming task butit is expected to give one's best remarks within the time frame of the journal.
Salient features of the JCDR: It is a biomedical, multidisciplinary (including all medical and dental specialities), e-journal, with wide scope and extensive author support. At the same time, a free text of manuscript is available in HTML and PDF format. There is fast growing authorship and readership with JCDR as this can be judged by the number of articles published in it i e; in Feb 2007 of its first issue, it contained 5 articles only, and now in its recent volume published in April 2011, it contained 67 manuscripts. This e-journal is fulfilling the commitments and objectives sincerely, (as stated by Editor-in-chief in his preface to first edition) i e; to encourage physicians through the internet, especially from the developing countries who witness a spectrum of disease and acquire a wealth of knowledge to publish their experiences to benefit the medical community in patients care. I also feel that many of us have work of substance, newer ideas, adequate clinical materials but poor in medical writing and hesitation to submit the work and need help. JCDR provides authors help in this regards.
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Indexation and online availability: Indexation transforms the journal in some sense from its local ownership to the worldwide professional community and to the public.JCDR is indexed with Embase & EMbiology, Google Scholar, Index Copernicus, Chemical Abstracts Service, Journal seek Database, Indian Science Abstracts, to name few of them. Manuscriptspublished in JCDR are available on major search engines ie; google, yahoo, msn.
In the era of fast growing newer technologies, and in computer and internet friendly environment the manuscripts preparation, submission, review, revision, etc and all can be done and checked with a click from all corer of the world, at any time. Of course there is always a scope for improvement in every field and none is perfect. To progress, one needs to identify the areas of one's weakness and to strengthen them.
It is well said that "happy beginning is half done" and it fits perfectly with JCDR. It has grown considerably and I feel it has already grown up from its infancy to adolescence, achieving the status of standard online e-journal form Indian continent since its inception in Feb 2007. This had been made possible due to the efforts and the hard work put in it. The way the JCDR is improving with every new volume, with good quality original manuscripts, makes it a quality journal for readers. I must thank and congratulate Dr Hemant Jain, Editor-in-Chief JCDR and his team for their sincere efforts, dedication, and determination for making JCDR a fast growing journal.
Every one of us: authors, reviewers, editors, and publisher are responsible for enhancing the stature of the journal. I wish for a great success for JCDR."



Thanking you
With sincere regards
Dr. Rajendra Kumar Ghritlaharey, M.S., M. Ch., FAIS
Associate Professor,
Department of Paediatric Surgery, Gandhi Medical College & Associated
Kamla Nehru & Hamidia Hospitals Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462 001 (India)
E-mail: drrajendrak1@rediffmail.com
On May 11,2011




Dr. Shankar P.R.

"On looking back through my Gmail archives after being requested by the journal to write a short editorial about my experiences of publishing with the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR), I came across an e-mail from Dr. Hemant Jain, Editor, in March 2007, which introduced the new electronic journal. The main features of the journal which were outlined in the e-mail were extensive author support, cash rewards, the peer review process, and other salient features of the journal.
Over a span of over four years, we (I and my colleagues) have published around 25 articles in the journal. In this editorial, I plan to briefly discuss my experiences of publishing with JCDR and the strengths of the journal and to finally address the areas for improvement.
My experiences of publishing with JCDR: Overall, my experiences of publishing withJCDR have been positive. The best point about the journal is that it responds to queries from the author. This may seem to be simple and not too much to ask for, but unfortunately, many journals in the subcontinent and from many developing countries do not respond or they respond with a long delay to the queries from the authors 1. The reasons could be many, including lack of optimal secretarial and other support. Another problem with many journals is the slowness of the review process. Editorial processing and peer review can take anywhere between a year to two years with some journals. Also, some journals do not keep the contributors informed about the progress of the review process. Due to the long review process, the articles can lose their relevance and topicality. A major benefit with JCDR is the timeliness and promptness of its response. In Dr Jain's e-mail which was sent to me in 2007, before the introduction of the Pre-publishing system, he had stated that he had received my submission and that he would get back to me within seven days and he did!
Most of the manuscripts are published within 3 to 4 months of their submission if they are found to be suitable after the review process. JCDR is published bimonthly and the accepted articles were usually published in the next issue. Recently, due to the increased volume of the submissions, the review process has become slower and it ?? Section can take from 4 to 6 months for the articles to be reviewed. The journal has an extensive author support system and it has recently introduced a paid expedited review process. The journal also mentions the average time for processing the manuscript under different submission systems - regular submission and expedited review.
Strengths of the journal: The journal has an online first facility in which the accepted manuscripts may be published on the website before being included in a regular issue of the journal. This cuts down the time between their acceptance and the publication. The journal is indexed in many databases, though not in PubMed. The editorial board should now take steps to index the journal in PubMed. The journal has a system of notifying readers through e-mail when a new issue is released. Also, the articles are available in both the HTML and the PDF formats. I especially like the new and colorful page format of the journal. Also, the access statistics of the articles are available. The prepublication and the manuscript tracking system are also helpful for the authors.
Areas for improvement: In certain cases, I felt that the peer review process of the manuscripts was not up to international standards and that it should be strengthened. Also, the number of manuscripts in an issue is high and it may be difficult for readers to go through all of them. The journal can consider tightening of the peer review process and increasing the quality standards for the acceptance of the manuscripts. I faced occasional problems with the online manuscript submission (Pre-publishing) system, which have to be addressed.
Overall, the publishing process with JCDR has been smooth, quick and relatively hassle free and I can recommend other authors to consider the journal as an outlet for their work."



Dr. P. Ravi Shankar
KIST Medical College, P.O. Box 14142, Kathmandu, Nepal.
E-mail: ravi.dr.shankar@gmail.com
On April 2011
Anuradha

Dear team JCDR, I would like to thank you for the very professional and polite service provided by everyone at JCDR. While i have been in the field of writing and editing for sometime, this has been my first attempt in publishing a scientific paper.Thank you for hand-holding me through the process.


Dr. Anuradha
E-mail: anuradha2nittur@gmail.com
On Jan 2020

Important Notice

Dentistry
Year : 2010 | Month : June | Volume : 4 | Issue : 3 | Page : 2587 - 2593 Full Version

The effect of Four Fruit Juices on the Ph of Dental Plaque - A Four Period Cross-Over Study


Published: June 1, 2010 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2010/.791
PREETHI B P, MAITREYEE D S, DODAWAD R

*ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, (MD),** Post Graduate Student,( Md) Biochemistry Biochemistry, J.J.M.Medical College, Davangere, Karnataka. India. ***ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,(MDS) Pedodontics, College Of Dentalsciences, Davangere, Karnataka, India.

Correspondence Address :
Dr PREETHI.B.P, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, Department Of Biochemistry,J.J.M. Medical College Hospital, Davangere, 577004.Karnataka. India.
Telephone: 09844316801
E-Mail: Preethi_Chidan@Yahoo.Co.In

Abstract

Background: The concept of health has prevailed for centuries and dietary habits are changing with modernization. “Healthy eating” is perceived to be important and fruit juices are marketed and promoted aggressively as a “Health drink”.
Objectives: 1. To estimate the endogenous pH and titratable acidity of four fruit juices. [Freshly prepared- Apple and Sweet lime, Ready to drink- Frooti and Pulpy orange] 2. To assess the effect of these test drinks on the pH of the plaque in two groups. [DMFT, Decayed Missing Filled Teeth=0 and DMFT, Decayed Missing Filled Teeth >3] 3. To compare between the juices for the two groups.
Methodology: 24 volunteers aged 20–30 years from the College of Dental Sciences, Davangere, were included and divided into 2 groups, based on the caries experience. The groups were randomly allocated for fruit juices and a four period cross-over study was designed. The endogenous pH of the fruit juices and plaque samples were collected at the baseline and after consumption of the fruit juices at 1, 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes and was assessed by a digital pH meter. Statistical analysis was done by using the Student’s t-test, ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc.
Result: Four fruit juices were acidic and reduced the pH of the plaque. The maximum pH drop was observed in the ready to drink juices as compared to the fresh fruit juices in both the groups, but in group B, it dropped below the critical pH.
Conclusion: The ready to drink juices have more cariogenic potential as compared to fresh fruit juices, especially for the caries active group.

Keywords

fruit juice, plaque pH, cariogenic, acidogenic.

Introduction
The concept of health has prevailed for centuries and dietary habits are apparently changing with modernization. “Healthy eating” is now perceived to be important. Changes in diet have included a substantial increase in the consumption of beverages and acidic drinks (1),(4). People are aware of the deleterious effect caused by carbonated beverages on the teeth and they prefer more natural and healthy products such as fresh fruit juices, which are conveniently prepared at home and are considered to be healthier, as it provides a good source of vitamins (2). The desirability of a healthy lifestyle along with the so called dieting has led to an increased consumption of juices. Drinking large amounts of fruit juices is frequently practiced these days and the consumption of these juices is considered to be healthy as compared to other carbohydrate beverages. Even fruit juices are marketed aggressively and are promoted as “Health drinks” (4). Fruit juices are popular with people of all ages worldwide as they are sweet and are perceived to be healthy. (7). However, claims of its safety for the teeth are unsubstantiated due to inadequate reports in the literature.

A vast amount of laboratory research has been carried out on the effects of carbohydrate foods with respect to dental caries, but very much less has been done on fruit juices which also contain fermentable carbohydrates. Hence, the present study was formulated to evaluate the plaque pH changes after exposing it to 4 different commonly consumed fruit juices.

Objectives
1] To estimate the endogenous pH and titratable acidity of four different commonly consumed fruit juices.
[Freshly prepared- Apple and Sweet lime juice, Ready to drink- Frooti and Pulpy orange]
2] To assess the effect of these test drinks on plaque pH at various time intervals in two groups.
[DMFT = 0 and DMFT > 3]
3] To compare between the juices for the two groups.

Material and Methods

Methodology
Based on a simple market survey, four commonly consumed fruit juices i.e., 2 freshly prepared, Apple and Sweet lime [Mosumbi] and 2 ready to drink, Frooti and Pulpy orange were included as test drinks in the study. Twenty four subjects aged 20-30 years (4), who were volunteers from J.J.M. Medical College, Davangere, were considered as study subjects. People with satisfactory gingival / periodontal health and those who were not on any medication were included and they were divided into 2 groups, based on the caries experience, following the WHO 1997 criteria,
Group A; 12 adults [DMFT Decayed Missing Filled Teeth = 0] i.e., caries resistant and
Group B; 12 adults [DMFT Decayed Missing Filled Teeth > 3] i.e., caries active group.

Ethical clearance was obtained from the ethical committee of J.J.M.Medical College, Davangere and informed consent was obtained from all the participants.

Method
The volunteers were asked to refrain from oral hygienic procedures for 24 hours and from having food or drinks for at least 2 hours prior to the procedure. On the examination day, the groups were allocated randomly for 2 different test drinks and the intrinsic pH of the test drinks was measured by the Digital pH meter by using a combination of a glass electrode in the Department of Biochemistry, JJM Medical College. For the measurement of the titratable acidity of each of the test drinks, 0.1M sodium hydroxide was titrated against 10ml of the drink until a pH of 7 was obtained. The volume of sodium hydroxide required for this was noted and this gave an indication of the buffering potential of the drinks. A four period cross over study was designed.

Plaque collecting [Sampling] method (3),(9),(15):

Plaque was collected at the baseline with a spoon excavator from all accessible surfaces of the upper central incisors, the buccal surfaces of the upper first molars and premolars, the lingual surfaces of the lower molars and the incisors. The collection was done within a period of 30 – 60 seconds. Then, the subjects were asked to drink 100ml of the test drink in one minute and to swish the drink carefully around the teeth before swallowing in order to maintain a uniform method in drinking. Post consumption, the plaque samples were collected at 1, 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes and the pH was estimated.

The sample was pooled in 5ml of distilled water and was kept in a dappen dish and the pH was determined immediately after collection using a digital pH meter (Systronics 335, GI 631 stirrer) with a glass combination electrode, which was previously calibrated and standardized with pH 7 and pH 4 buffer solutions.

After the collection of the last sample, the subjects were allowed to brush and a 3 day wash out period was given, after which a similar experiment as detailed above, was done for the next test drinks. The collected data was then analyzed by using the Student’s t-test, ANOVA and Tukeys post hoc by using the SPSS 10 software. P-values of less than 0.05 [P < 0.05] were considered to be statistically significant.

Results

24 subjects were divided into 2 groups [12 in DMFT = 0 i.e., in Group A and 12 in DMFT > 3 i.e., Group B] based on the caries experience. Their ages ranged from 20-30 years in both the groups. There was no gender difference. The resting plaque pH in group A was found to be higher [6.9±0.4 to 7.0±0.5] than that in group B [6.3±0.4 to 6.5±0.5], which was statistically significant after the unpaired t test (Table/Fig 1).


The endogenous pH of all fruit juices was estimated to be acidic. Among that, Pulpy orange showed the least pH, followed by Frooti, Sweet lime and Apple juice (Table/Fig 2) .



In group A, the mean pH values remained below baseline values, but not below critical pH for all the test drinks and attained a value which was not significantly below the baseline values at 30 minutes(Table/Fig 3).

In group B, the mean pH drop was below the critical pH of 5.5 for all the test drinks and it remained below baseline values even after 30 minutes.
In both the groups, the maximum plaque pH fall was noted at 5 minutes, the maximum being for Pulpy orange and Frooti, followed by Sweet lime and Apple juice [Table/Fig4] and (Table/Fig 5)


The data of this study was analyzed and the pH values were estimated with respect to 100% of that of the baseline pH. Intra group comparison by the paired t test was significant for all the fruit juices, at different time intervals for both the groups.

Inter group comparison by ANOVA showed no significance at different time intervals in group A, whereas in group B, ANOVA was significant at 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes. Pairwise comparison by Tukeys post hoc showed that Pulpy orange and Frooti significantly reduced plaque pH as compared to Sweet lime and Apple juice.

Discussion

Acidified sugar containing drinks have been found to be cariogenic and erosive in rats (4). Foods and beverages, especially fruits and fruit juices, can contain a variety of acids that have the potential to damage the teeth (8). Excessive use of the drinks has been attached on two main dental grounds:
1] They may be acidic enough to damage [erode] surfaces of the teeth which are not covered by dental plaque.
2] Those which contain fermentable carbohydrates may serve as a source of substrate, diffusing into the dental plaque from which micro-organisms inhabitating the plaque can generate the acid that brings about the destructive process of dental caries, initially in the sub-surface of the enamel beneath the plaque (11).

The time scales of the two processes will differ however, with erosion immediately on contact of the drinks with unprotected tooth surfaces and pre carious changes taking place in the plaque over a period of a few minutes upto possibly 1 hour or more (11). Some authors suggest that the pH of the oral cavity affects the solubility of dental tissues. The consumption of low pH fruit juices causes a drop in the oral pH below critical pH and if it persists even for few minutes, it causes a potential damage to the teeth (13).

Edger et al showed in 1975, that carbonated beverages were more efficiently buffered by contact with saliva than with fruit juices. It was the buffering capacity of the fruit juices which rendered them more able to combat salivary buffers and hence, they further lowered the plaque pH. (12). Hence, titratable acidity was measured along with the intrinsic pH of the fruit juices in the present study.

A variety of factors come into play in determining the cariogenicity of sugar containing drinks (1). The fall in pH produced in the plaque is dependent on the sugar content, intrinsic pH and also the buffering capacity and the manner in which a drink is consumed. The resting plaque pH usually ranges from 6-7. When a low pH drink is consumed, it causes a fall in this resting plaque pH. The length of the time for which this low pH remains at its minimum is important, since if it reaches the so called critical pH value, it initiates the dissolution of the enamel (4).

The finding of the present study i.e., in a caries free person, the pH doesn’t drop below critical pH after exposure to different drinks was similar to the observation made by Stephen in 1944, who found that in caries free individuals, plaque pH didn’t fall below critical pH after a glucose rinse5. Plaque from caries resistant subjects exhibited an initial higher pH, a modest fall in pH after consumption of different fruit juices and a more rapid return to resting levels as compared to caries susceptible subjects. This finding was similar to a study conducted by Vrastsanos and Mandel in 1982 after a sucrose challenge (6). This can be attributed to the neutralizing effects of saliva by virtue of its buffering system which gets activated with increasing salivary secretion and occurs due to acidogenic challenge (4).

Pulpy orange and Frooti showed more cariogenic response to plaque pH. These drinks contain citric and ascorbic acids and had higher buffering capacity. All these factors contributed to a decrease in pH (4). Sweet lime also contains citric acid and had an intrinsic pH similar to Frooti, but had a lower buffering capacity than Frooti. The drinks which consistently produced minimal acidogenic response are Sweet lime, followed by Apple. Similar results were obtained in rat studies, where it was found that canned apple and grape juice were more destructive than pineapple or orange juice (11).

A single acidic attack is of minor importance, but if repeated, the ability of the saliva to deal with the acid decreases. Hence, the danger is the frequent use of these fruit juices over time. With the frequent consumption of acidic, sugar rich soft drinks, people are at a high risk of acid demineralization, ultimately leading to erosion and caries development. If the challenge is frequent enough and there are few or no protective factors as in caries susceptible people, this can be quite aggressive.

Conclusion

All the fruit juices used in the present study were acidic in nature and reduced plaque pH below critical pH, especially in the caries active group. Hence, it becomes mandatory for us as preventive dentists, to provide appropriate diet counseling which is tailored for a particular individual to maximize the compliance. At the same time, negative admonitions to stop using these drinks are not likely to be successful. Instead, certain guidance for dental health should follow AAP [American Academy of Pediatrics] guidelines17 to limit the intake of these juices.

Guide lines (2),(17):
- Ideally serve drinks only at mealtimes.
- Keep drinking times short.
- Use a straw whenever possible.
- Chilled fruit juices should be avoided.
- Fresh fruits can be preferred in places of juices.
Plaque pH methods alone can only indicate a food stuffs acidogenic potential and possibly the cariogenic potential (3). Hence, a further in-depth study by a combination of plaque pH model with controls and an insitu i.e., Intraoral Cariogenicity Test [ICT] method is recommended to assess the cariogenic potential.

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Dr D.S. Jayaprakash Murthy, Professor and head, Dept of Biochemistry, J.J.M.Medical College, for his moral support. No financial and material support was received.

Conflicts Of Interest
NIL

References

1.
G. Lehl, J.R Taneja, S L Chopra., Evaluation of the cariogenicity of sugar containing drinks by estimating changes in pH of human dental plaque and saliva. J Indian Soc Pedo Prev Dent. March 1993:9-14.
2.
J F Tahmassebi, MS Duggal et al., Soft drinks and dental health: A review of the current literature. Journal of dentistry. 2006(34):2-11.
3.
MEJ Curzon and JJ Hefferren., Modern methods for assessing the cariogenic and erosive potential of foods. British Dental Journal, 2001(19):41-46.
4.
Kiran Banan, Amritha M Hegde., Plaque and salivary pH changes after consumption of fresh fruit juices. The journal of clinical pediatric dentistry. 2005(30):9-13.
5.
Stephen R M., Intraoral hydrogen ion concentration associated with dental caries activity. J Dent Res.1944;23:257-66.
6.
Vratsanos SM, Mandel ID., Comparative plaque acidogenesis of caries resistant vs caries susceptible adults. J Dent Res. 1982;61(3):465-68.
7.
Mainwaring PJ., A relationship between plaque pH and caries increment in 11-12 year old boys. Caries Res.1981(15):206
8.
Birkhed D., Sugar content,acidity and effect on plaque pH of fruit juices, fruit drinks, carbonated beverages and sport drinks. Caries Res 1984(18):120-27
9.
M E J Curzon, M A Pollard., Integration of methods for determining the Acido/Cariogenic potential of foods: A Comparison of several different methods. Caries Res.1996(30):126-31.
10.
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