Estudios de percepción gustativa y determinaciones bioquímicas en saliva de jóvenes consumidores sociales de alcohol.

FERRARIS MARÍA ELSA; SIMBRÓN ALICIA; ACTIS AB; BASSO E; MORETTI E; POSTIGLIONE G

REVISTA DE LA FACULTAD DE ODONTOLOGIA (SANTIAGO, CHILE)

Editorial de la Universidad de Chile

Año: 2003 vol. 21 p. 59 - 68

0716-8500

Previous studies carried out on major and minor salivary glands of chronic alcoholics showed structural, histochemical and immunocytochemical variation and suggested probable quantitative and qualitative changes in their secretions. Those modifications would affect the oral health and perhaps the taste perception. The purpose of the present study was to detect early physical, chemical and functional changes as a consequence of alcohol intake. For that, the taste perception was clinically evaluated (acid and sweet) in 50 university students of both sexes, age range 18-27 years, with and withpout backgroundof daily alcohol intake. Besides, salivary pH was measured and IgAs and gammaglutamyltransferase (GGT) were determined in non-stimulated mixed saliva. Non siginificant differences were observed for salivary pH and taste perception between alcohol consumers and non-consumers and for IgAs and GGT between both sexes and alcohol consumers and non-consumers. Nevertheless, this study allowed to determine a time normal pattern of taste perception (acid: women 3.79, men: 1.47 seconds; sweet: women 1.81, men 1.56seconds). It can be concluded that social alcohol intake woould induce functional changes able to modify the salivary pH and taste perceptio. That would indicate that salivary gland structure is not significantly affected. This fact could be attributted to the little time of exposition to ethanol and to the relatively moderate intake in relation to the chronic alcohol consumers.