The Effects of Chewing Jicama Fruit and Cucumber Fruit on Saliva pH in Smokers in a Banjarbaru City Boys' Dormitory

Abstract

Salivary pH is one of the factors that contributes to the incidence of dental caries. pH
of smokers' saliva is acidic, so there must be an effort to increase the pH of smokers' saliva,
one of which is chewing juicy and fibrous fruits such as jicama and cucumber.
This study aims to determine the difference between chewing jicama and cucumber
on pH of smokers in ten male student dormitories in Banjarbaru City. This study used a
quasi-experimental research design. The total sample in this study was 60 students smokers
who were recuited from ten Male Student Dormitory, then divided into two group the first
group chewed jicama and second group chewed cucumber fruit. The sampling technique
used a purposive sampling. Data analysis was performed by using the Mann-Whitney U
Test.
Based on the results of the study, it was found that the significance or value of =
0.002 this indicates that there is a difference in the increase pH between chewing jicama
fruit and chewing cucumber fruit, where the average pH of saliva chewing jicama fruit is
higher than chewing cucumber fruit by 0.5.
The conclusion of this study is that there is a difference between chewing jicama
and cucumber on pH of smokers in ten male student dormitories in Banjarbaru City. It is
recommended for smokers to maintain dental and oral health by consuming juicy and
fibrous fruits and vegetables such as jicama and cucumber to reduce the risk of dental and
oral disease.