Easy Steps for Testing Saliva for Tooth Decay Risk

1. Don’t brush your teeth for at least 1 hour before the test.
2. Eat a sweet treat (like candy or cake) that has sugar. Wait 30 minutes after eating before doing the test.
3. After 30 minutes, take off the lid from your plastic cup and get the pH test strip ready. Put them on a table.
4. Spit about half a teaspoon of saliva into your own plastic cup.
   1. If you or your child can’t spit enough, use a clean cotton swab to soak up saliva from your mouth and put it in the cup.
5. Use one test strip for each person (For you and your child).
6. Dip the end of your test strip about half an inch into your saliva for about 5 seconds.
   1. If you use a clean cotton swab to collect saliva, rub the saliva onto the end of the strip for 5 seconds.
7. Shake off extra saliva from the strip. Then match the color on the strip to the pH color chart.
8. Don’t let the strip dry before checking the color.
9. Write down on a piece of paper:
   1. Your name
   2. The date
   3. Your pH level (like 4.0, 5.6, or 7.0)
      Keep this paper to track your pH once a month for 4 months or as your dentist says.
10. Put the lid back on the cup and throw away the cup and strip in the trash.
11. If a child’s pH is 6.0 or lower, they are 4 times more likely to get cavities than kids with pH above 6.0.
12. If a mom’s pH is 6.0 or lower, her child is 1.6 times more likely to get cavities than kids whose moms have pH above 6.0.