CHEWING EFFICACY OF FENNEL SEEDS ON SALIVARY pH IN CHILDREN – AN In vivo STUDY

Introduction: Chewing of herbal seeds/ leaves has been customarily followed in various cultures. Chewing of fennel seeds (Foeniculum vulgare) is one such custom. This is known to influence the salivary flow and its buffering capacity thereby providing caries protection to susceptible individuals.

Aim: The aim of the study is to assess and compare the salivary pH in children at baseline, immediately and five minutes after chewing the seeds.Materials and Methods: A total of 25 subjects, aged 12-15 years were divided into three categories based on DMFT scores and were requested to chew 1.3 gm of fennel seeds for five minutes and salivary pH was recorded at three time intervals using a pH meter.

Results: An increase in salivary pH was observed immediately after chewing as well as 5 minutes after chewing of the fennel seeds in all the categories of the DMFT score. This was found to be statistically significant (ƿ<0.005).

Conclusion: Chewing of fennel seeds showed an increase in salivary pH which can avert demineralization and aid in anti-carcinogenic effect.