Masoumeh Moslemi
1, Mandana Sattari
2, Fahimeh Kooshki
3, Faezeh Fotuhi
4, Neda Modarresi
5, Zahra Khalili Sadrabad
6*, Mohammad Saeid Shadkar
71 Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Professor, Department of Immunology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Yazd University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
5 Pedodontist, Private Practice, Tehran, Iran
6 Post-graduate Student, Department Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
7 PhD Student in Economics, Faculty of Economics, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Background and aims. Lysozyme and lactoferrin are salivary proteins which play an important role in innate defense mechanisms against bacteria. This study investigated the association of salivary lysozyme and lactoferrin concentrations with early childhood caries (ECC).Materials and methods. This study was carried out on 42 healthy children (age range, 36 to 71 months), of whom 21 were caries free (CF) and 21 had ECC. Disposable needle-less syringes were used to collect unstimulated saliva from buccal and labial vestibules. Fifteen children who had ECC were treated completely and their saliva was collected in the same way for the second time, three months after treatment. Lysozyme and lactoferrin concentrations were measured and recorded by the ELISA method. The intergroup comparisons were carried out using chi-square, Student’s t-test and Wilcoxon signed ranked test. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results. The mean concentration of lysozyme was significantly higher in CF group compared with that of ECC group (P = 0.04). Although the mean concentration of lactoferrin in ECC group was higher in comparison with ECC group, the differ-ence was not statistically significant (P = 0.06). After dental treatment, the mean concentrations of lysozyme and lactoferrin did not change in comparison with their concentrations before treatment.Conclusion. ECC may have a relationship with lower concentrations of unstimulated salivary lactoferrin and lysozyme and reduced amounts of these two salivary proteins may be a risk factor for dental caries in children.