Effect of Consuming Rebon Shrimp Crackers on Saliva Characteristics in Percobaan Public Elementary School Medan.

This study aimed to examine the effect of consuming rebon shrimp crackers on the saliva characteristics namely flow rate, pH and viscosity in Percobaan Public Elementary School Medan. This study was experimental research with pre and post-test control group design consisting of 48 samples, 24 receiving the intervention and 24 as the control group. Unstimulated saliva samples obtained by using the drooling method are then measured for pH and flow rate. The viscosity was assessed using Ostwald viscometer. Paired T-test was used to analyze the effect of rebon shrimp crackers on saliva characteristics, unpaired T-test to analyze differences in rebon shrimp crackers consumption on salivary characteristics, and Pearson correlation to analyze the association between saliva characteristics after treatment. There was a significant effect on saliva characteristics (p<0.05) before and after treatment in the treatment group, but not in the control group (p>0.05). After treatment, there was a significant difference in saliva characteristics (p<0.05) between the control and treatment groups. A significant correlation was observed between salivary flow rate and viscosity (p=0.03), flow rate and pH (p=0.00), and pH and viscosity (p=0.03) after treatment. Due to their effect on saliva characteristics, rebon shrimp crackers may be used to prevent caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]