Abstract
Objective: To measure surface changes of pacifier nipples after immersion in acidic artificial saliva. Methods: Two types of pacifier nipples (latex and silicone) were selected. Five copies of each type were used. The protocol consisted of immersion in acidic artificial saliva (pH = 5.97) for 16 days. The nipples of the pacifier remained in direct contact with saliva in an individualized, opaque and closed container in a bacteriological incubator at 37ºC. The samples were examined before and after exposure to saliva through qualitative (based on images obtained in a 100 mm macro lens and three-dimensional images with 10% amplification obtained in the profilometry) and quantitative (roughness data obtained in non-contact 3D optical profilometry). Data were obtained in duplicate and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings were tested for normality (Shapiro-Wilk). Paired t-test or Wilcoxon was used to compare before and after roughness data. Results: In the image analysis, it was observed that only the surface of the latex pacifier's nipples showed an irregular appearance after exposure to saliva. In the quantitative evaluation, no differences were found between the roughness values before and after (p>0.05). Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrated qualitative changes in the surface of latex pacifiers. However, it was not able to demonstrate statistically significant differences for the roughness parameters before and after exposure to acidic artificial saliva in the nipples of latex and silicone pacifiers.
Highlights
The pacifier/dummy/soother use is related to several themes reported in literature
Latex pacifier nipples were purchased in the city of São Paulo while silicone ones were obtained in the city of João Pessoa
According to the images assessment, the latex samples exposed to acidic saliva presented a clear uneven appearance in contrast to silicone slabs that showed an unchanged surface after contact with current saliva solution (Figure 1A-D and Figure 2A-D)
Summary
The pacifier/dummy/soother use is related to several themes reported in literature. Main related themes with pacifier were breastfeeding; pain; sudden death and dental occlusion (Castilho & Rocha, 2009). Much attention has been paid to the harmful effects of pacifier use on dental arches and malocclusion (Zhou et al, 2016). The focus on the interface between pacifier use and microbial colonization has attracted the attention of some scholars (Nelson-Filho et al, 2015). Some concerning findings have been reported in the literature. Some studies have investigated the effect of the pacifier use and the occurrence of several conditions
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