Comparison of Total Antioxidant Capacity in Saliva of Children with Severe Early Childhood Caries and Caries-Free Children

Abstract

Oxidative stress may play an important role in the onset and development of oral inflammatory and dental decay diseases. The aim of this study was to compare total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels in the unstimulated whole saliva of children with severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) and caries-free children. In this case-control study, 80 children aged 3-5 years from nursery schools in Babol, northern Iran were the subjects of the study. The S-ECC group contained 40 children with dmfs ≥4 (age 3), ≥5 (age 4) or ≥6 (age 5) and the control group contained 40 caries-free children (dmfs = 0). Out of consideration for growth pattern and general health, the clinical examinations of the chosen children were conducted by a physician. These two groups were age and sex matched. TAC was measured by the FRAP (ferric-reducing antioxidant power) method and total protein in unstimulated whole saliva was evaluated spectrophotometrically. According to the normal distribution of data, statistical tests including the t test and Pearson's correlation test were used; p < 0.05 was considered significant in the difference between the two groups. TAC levels and salivary total protein increased in children with S-ECC compared with caries-free children (p = 0.025 and p = 0.033, respectively). Moreover, salivary TAC showed a significant positive correlation with total protein concentration and dmfs in the S-ECC group (p < 0.001, r = 0.685 and r = 0.902, respectively). The significant increment of salivary TAC in S-ECC may represent a compensatory mechanism against oxidative stress in S-ECC.

Salivary and Serum Antioxidant and Oxidative Stress Markers in Dental Caries

“…In contrast to our results, other studies have shown significantly higher levels of TAC in dental caries [Tulunoglu et al, 2006;Hegde et al, 2009;Preethi et al, 2010;Dodwad et al, 2011;Kumar et al, 2011;Ahmadi-Motamayel et al, 2013;Mahjoub et al, 2014]. This difference might be attributed to the study population, sample size, the method of case selection or very high levels of oxidative stress, in which antioxidants cannot increase.…”

“…There are also limited studies on salivary TAC in dental caries [Tulunoglu et al, 2006;Hegde et al, 2009;Preethi et al, 2010;Dodwad et al, 2011;Kumar et al, 2011;Mahjoub et al, 2014].…”

Antioxidant activity of various oral Lactobacillus strains

“…; Mahjoub et al . ). In contrast, the total antioxidant capacity of saliva in periodontitis was lower than in healthy subjects (Diab et al .…”

“…In the oral cavity, the antioxidant defence system has been implicated with oral diseases where the level of antioxidant could be altered in response to an infection or disease. For example, a significant increase of antioxidant capacity in saliva was found in children with active and/or severe caries (Kumar et al 2011;Ahmadi et al 2013;Mahjoub et al 2014). In contrast, the total antioxidant capacity of saliva in periodontitis was lower than in healthy subjects (Diab et al 2003).…”

Salivary Biomarkers in Caries Affected and Caries Free Children

“…Moreover, a higher total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was observed with dental caries in deciduous but not in permanent teeth [17][18][19][20] and TAC increased with the age of the children [21,22].…”