Original Research Article
Year: 2019 | Month: December | Volume: 6 | Issue: 12 | Pages: 189-197
Assessment of Taste Perception, Salivary Flow Rate and pH in Hypertensive Patients with or without Antihypertensive Medication – a Comparative Study
Vaishali Khandelwal1, Ramhari Sathawane2, Ashish Lanjekar3, Sunita Kulkarni4, Sharathchandra Bontha5, Rakhi Chandak3, Romita Gaikwad6, Rucha Pandharipande1, Gunjan Moon1
1Post Graduate student, 2Professor and Head, 3Reader, 5Private practitioner, 6Lecturer,
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Swargiya Dadasasheb Kalmegh Smruti Dental College and Hospital, Hingna, Nagpur
4Dean, Professor and Head, Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Guru Gobind Singh College of Dental Science and Research Centre, Burhanpur
Corresponding Author: Vaishali Khandelwal
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The present study was aimed to examine the association of antihypertensive medications with salivary flow rate and pH and detection of alterations in taste perception in hypertensive patients with or without antihypertensive medications.
Material & Methods: Total 120 patients were randomly included in the study and were divided in four groups of 30 patients each as: hypertensive patients not on any medications(A), hypertensive patients taking beta blocker group of drugs(B), hypertensive patients taking angiotensin II antagonist group of drugs(C) and healthy individuals(D i.e. control). All the patients were assessed for their unstimulated whole salivary flow rate using passive drool method and salivary pH using digital pH meter. Their taste threshold was also evaluated for four different tastes i.e. salty, sweet, sour and bitter in three different concentrations each.
Results: The salivary flow rate and salivary pH were significantly reduced in hypertensive patients with or without medications than normal individuals (p = 0.0001). However, the flow rate was greater in patients on angiotensin II antagonist drugs (0.36 ± 0.03 ml/min) than those on beta blocker drugs (0.317 ± 0.04 ml/min).The salty taste threshold was significantly increased in all three of the hypertensive groups than the normal individuals (p = 0.001). But the sweet, sour and bitter taste perceptions were not significantly altered.
Conclusion: There are significant changes in salivary flow, pH and salty taste perception as an effect of hypertension and antihypertensive medications. The angiotensin II antagonist drugs bring out comparatively more improvement in salivary flow than the beta blocker drugs. Hence, salivary flow rate, pH and taste perception should be considered as important parameters in guiding the diet and medication protocol for hypertensive patients, thus maintaining their oral and overall health and hence improving their quality of life.
Key words: hypertension, angiotensin II antagonist, beta blocker, salivary flow, pH and salty taste perception
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