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Salivary antibodies, amylase and protein from children with early childhood caries

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the organic composition of saliva from children without dental caries and children with early childhood caries (ECC). Two groups of 20 children varying in age from 12 to 47 months were selected: Group I, caries-free children; Group II, children with early childhood caries (ECC). Samples of saliva were collected from each subject and submitted to immunological and biochemical assays. Measurements of total salivary IgA, IgG and IgM were performed by using nephelometric techniques, while total protein concentrations and amylase activity were determined by colorimetric techniques. Comparisons of values between groups were made by using U Mann-Whitney test (p<0.05). Children with ECC presented significantly higher levels of total salivary IgA and IgG, while the mean values of amylase activity, total protein concentrations and total IgM were similar between the groups. In this study, the presence of ECC was associated with an increase in total salivary IgA.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Humberto de Paula and Dr. Antonio Gonzales for providing laboratory facilities at Pasteur Laboratory (Brasilia-DF, Brazil), and for their special assistance. We are also grateful to Dr. Claucus Mercatelli (Dade Behring Company, São Paulo, Brazil) for providing the necessary material for the laboratorial assays.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 11475 Halethorpe Drive, Jacksonville, FL, 32223, USA

    Débora Gonçalves de Farias

  2. School of Dentistry, University of Brasilia, Campus Universitario Darcy Ribeiro, Department of Dentistry, 70910-900 , Brasilia-DF, Brazil

    Débora Gonçalves de Farias & Ana Cristina Barreto Bezerra

Authors
  1. Débora Gonçalves de Farias
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  2. Ana Cristina Barreto Bezerra
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Correspondence to Débora Gonçalves de Farias.

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Gonçalves de Farias, D., Barreto Bezerra, A.C. Salivary antibodies, amylase and protein from children with early childhood caries. Clin Oral Invest 7, 154–157 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-003-0222-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-003-0222-7

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