Efficacy of Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on Whole Salivary Flow Rate: A Descriptive Observational Study

Statement of the Problem:

 Saliva is a precious oral fluid that contributes to oral health and often goes unnoticed until its quantity is diminished. This hampers the quality of life. Individuals suffering from diabetes are often found to have a complaint of reduced salivation due to the consumption of xerogenic drugs and autonomic neuropathy.

Our study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation (TENS) device on the salivary flow rate with respect to age and gender in Jaipur population.

A descriptive type of observational study was carried out on individuals in Jaipur at the Department of Oral Medicine & Radiology at Rajasthan Dental College & Hospital during a period of 7 months (August 2019- February 2020). The study consisted of 200 individuals who were divided into two Groups. Group I consisted of 100 healthy adult subjects of age range 20-40 yrs. and Group II consisted of 100 individuals of >40 yrs. of age (50 non-diabetic and 50 Type II diabetics). Unstimulated and stimulated saliva was collected for 5 mins. in a graduated beaker. Stimulated saliva was collected after keeping the TENS unit activated at 50Hz. p value <0.05 was considered to be significant.

Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilks normality tests were used to check if the variables follow normal distribution. Mann Whitney U test was used to compare mean between groups. The TENS unit was effective in increasing the quantity of stimulated saliva and a highly statistical significance was seen in age groups. TENS was also found to be more effective in increasing saliva in diabetic individuals. The mean age for Group I was 28.36±3.1, for Group II non-diabetic individuals was 53.56±7.8 and for Group II diabetic individuals was 52.16±7.4. The mean unstimulated salivary rate was 1.64ml/5min and the mean stimulated salivary rate was 1.914ml/5min for Group I. The mean unstimulated salivary rate was 1.231ml/5min and the mean stimulated salivary rate was 1.547 ml/5 min for Group II. The p value for Group I & II for unstimulated saliva was 0.01 and for stimulated saliva was 0.03.

TENS is an effective treatment modality for stimulating saliva. Salivary values may diminish with age so TENS can be used in aged individuals and also in diabetics to increase the quantity of saliva.