Abstract
Salivary factors have been studied for their effects on the process of dental caries in patients of diabetes mellitus type 2. In this study, protective role of salivary pH, salivary flow rate, and salivary calcium is assessed in the patients of diabetes mellitus type 2 with dental caries. The samples of saliva were collected from 400 patients of diabetes mellitus type 2 and 300 age- and sex- matched controls after getting informed consent. All the subjects were classified into four groups according to age. The severity of dental caries was counted by decayed, missed, and filled teeth (DMFT) score. The salivary pH, flow rate, and calcium levels were found to be low in patients as compared to controls. The levels of fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, and DMFT score were found to be significantly high in patients than controls. The glycemic factors were significantly correlated with salivary factors indicating their influence on progression of caries in diabetes. On the basis of findings, it is concluded that the suitable salivary pH and flow rate may be regarded as main protective factors against dental caries in diabetes. Optimum level of salivary calcium may be responsible for continuous supply of calcium to arrest the demineralization and help reduce the occurrence of dental caries.
Highlights
Dental caries is one of the common disorders of human beings and is a serious public health issue in developing world
The comparison of means with respect to demographic features among the study groups of patients showed that the BMI, SBP, FBS, HbA1c, and DMFT values were significantly high (P < 0.001), whereas no significant difference was found in age and DBP (Table 3)
The findings of this study suggest that the salivary factors are associated and have a positive impact on each other
Summary
Dental caries is one of the common disorders of human beings and is a serious public health issue in developing world. It usually occurs in children and adolescents and is the most common cause of tooth loss in younger population but can affect any age group [1, 2]. Saliva has been regarded as protective fluid against dental caries through its special properties and composition [14,15,16]. These include pH, flow rate, and calcium level [4, 17].
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