EFFECT OF SCREEN TIME ON ORAL HEALTH STATUS IN CHILDREN-AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY WITH SALIVARY ANALYSIS

Background: The prospect of side effects associated with the electromagnetic waves emitted by the mobile phones is a questioned issue. The current study was designed to assess the impact of mobile phone use on salivary concentrations of amylase in children. Methods: The children were divided into dominant and non-dominant groups based on the questionnaire. For each subject, saliva samples from the dominant and non-dominant mobile phone users were collected. Salivary flow rate and salivary concentrations of proteinamylase were measured. Data were analysed using one-way analyses of variance and t-tests conducted with the statistical software version 18 (SPSS Chicago, Illinois, USA). Results: Salivary flow rate and salivary concentrations of protein amylase were significantly higher in the non- dominant group than the dominant group. Conclusion: The dominant mobile phone use was associated with differences in salivary flow rate and salivary concentrations of amylase. Significant changes in salivary amylase and salivary flow rate suggest the adverse effects of the high use of cell phones on cell health in children.