Sedigheh Bakhtiari
1, Somayyeh Azimi
2,3*, Masoumeh Mehdipour
1, Somayyeh Amini
4, Zahra Elmi
5, Zahra Namazi
61 Associate Professor, Department of Oral medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Oral medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Honorary Research Fellow, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
4 Dentist, Private Practice, Tehran, Iran
5 Post-graduate Student, Department of Oral medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
6 PHD Student, Department of Dental Materials, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Background and aims. Cigarette smoke can induce oral cancer by its free radicals and oxidative damage. Salivary anti-oxidants system is believed to have an important role in defense mechanisms against oxidative stress. This study was compared total antioxidant capacity (TAoC) of saliva in smokers and nonsmokers.Materials and methods. In this cross-sectional study, 30 male smokers with mean age of 45.23 years and 30 nonsmokers with mean age of 45.30 years participated. Unstimulated whole saliva samples were collected in the morning in two groups by spitting method. TAoC of saliva was measured with the special kit in two groups at the same time. Statistical analysis was performed by covariance test.Results. The mean salivary TAoC in nonsmokers (0.741±0.123 U/ml) was higher than that in smokers (0.529±0.167 U/ml). This difference was statistically significant (P<0.001).Conclusion. Smoking can alter salivary antioxidant capacity.