Risk factor of secretory immunoglobulin A and salivary lysozyme level in children aged under 3 years to severe early childhood caries

Abstract

Severe Early Childhood Caries (SECC) is a significant dental health problem in various countries. The caries pathology process is affected by saliva status. An important antimicrobial component in saliva is sIgA preventing the attachment of bacteria to enamel and lysozyme capability to act as an antibacterial by hydrolyzing bacterial polysaccharide walls. The aim of the study is to compare the sIgAlevel and salivary lysozyme between children with caries free and suffering from SECC, aged under 3 years. This study is an observational analytic with cross sectional design. Saliva samples were collected unstimulated from 68 children. Examination of sIgA level and salivary lysozyme used ELISA sandwich technique. Data were analysed using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis, while correlation test used Spearman. The results showed,there was no significant differencein sIgAlevel between caries-free children and SECC children (p > 0.05). It has been found that in caries-free children have a higher mean lysozyme level than SECC children. It has been found a medium correlation between deft and lysozyme level (r = -0.492). In conclusion, lysozyme level was a risk factor for the incidence of SECC in children aged under 3 years. The higher deft status, the lower lysozyme level of the child.