Figure 3

a - Saliva collected in resting state with a very low flux, almost undetectable. Aside, saliva collected through mechanical stimulus with also very low flow (0.08 ml/min). b - Saliva collected in resting state that can be classified as: Normal salivary flux (0.42 ml/min), high viscosity (with a great amount of foam on top of the saliva) and high turbidity that means the presence of epithelial cells (beyond the physiological). c - saliva collected through mechanical stimulus, with a normal salivary flux (1.70 ml/min), high viscosity, turbidity and redness indicating the presence of gingival bleeding. d - Saliva collected through mechanical stimulus, with a normal salivary flux (1.60 ml/min), low viscosity (absence of foam on top of the saliva) and high turbidity. e - Kit for sialometry composed by a silicone piece used to be chewed and so stimulate the mechanical production of saliva, a small bottle to keep the collected saliva and a 5 ml syringe used to measure the volume of saliva collected after 5 minutes chewing.