Acidogenic potential and total salivary carbohydrate content of expectorants following the consumption of some cereal-based foods and fruits.

The acidogenic potential of a group of popular cereal-based foods and fruits and total carbohydrate content of salivary expectorants following their consumption were assessed using an indwelling electrode with telemetry and the anthrone method. Paired t tests indicated that sorbitol did not cause the plaque pH to fall as low as any of the test foods (p <0.05) but there was no significant difference between sucrose and the test foods. Only the fruits produced less acid than sucrose. The breakfast cereals tended to yield the highest levels of total carbohydrate in the salivary expectorants although a greater percentage of original carbohydrate was retained after rice and bread. These results suggest the important effect of carbohydrate retention on plaque pH response.