Oral food clearance and the pH of plaque and saliva

Carbohydrate clearance, plaque pH, and saliva pH resulting from eating foods containing high levels of sugar or starch were measured in the same experimental runs on the same test subjects. Foods with a higher content of sugar were removed more rapidly and depressed the pH of the plaque for a shorter time than did starchy foods containing less sugar. This finding suggests that retention of food in the mouth may be as important an indicator of its cariogenic potential as is the level of the pH it produces in plaque.