A new salivary buffer capacity test (CAT 21 But) was developed. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the salivary buffer capacity test with the caries status in preschool children.
The following results were obtained;
1. The rations of preschool children who were able to take stimulated saliva more than 1.0 ml amounted to 20.7% at the age of 4,57.1% at the age of 5,67.7% at the age of 6 years, respectively.
2. The caries prevalence and the mean df-teeth of the preschool children aged 6-years was 61.2% and 3.39, respectively.
3. When the salivary buffer capacity test (CAT 2 IBuf test) was divided into three groups (low risk/middle risk/high risk), it showed a highly significant correlation with the df-teeth (p<0.01).
4. The high risk group had a higher caries prevalence than the low risk group but the caries prevalence among each group did not show any significant difference.
5. The high risk group had a higher mean df-teeth than the low risk group and the mean df-teeth among the each groups showed a significant difference (ANOVA p<0.05). Based on these results, it is suggested that the salivary buffer test was useful for clinical application.