Ramadan Fasting and Saliva Characteristics

Abstract

Ramadan fasting is the absence of swallowing or limiting food and drink for a certain period, usually having a duration of between 28 and 30 days with an average period of 12 hours. One of the first biological fluids to experience changes in eating habits and changes to the environment or physics in the oral cavity during fasting is saliva. Changes that can occur are a decrease in saliva production which will result in a decrease in the function and components of saliva in the oral cavity. The purpose of writing this review is to determine the effect of fasting on saliva characteristics. This Literature Review was prepared using various sources, most of which are within the last 5-10 years. The literature search used as a data source used Google Scholar and PubMed. The keywords used are "saliva", "fasting", "ramadan fasting", "salivary flow", "saliva composition", "biochemistry of saliva". Changes in saliva characteristics during fasting include a decrease in saliva flow rate, complaints of dry mouth or xerostomia as well as changes in saliva composition, namely a decrease in inorganic components of saliva such as phosphate and calcium. During Ramadan fasting there is a risk of decreasing flow rate which in turn can affect the condition of the oral cavity.