Comparison of salivary calcium levels in children with and without ECC

Abstract

Background: Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a chronic disease of childhood affecting the primary dentition. It is also termed as nursing caries or baby bottle tooth decay. It has a multifactorial etiology and saliva and its components is one of the important etiological factors of ECC. Salivary calcium protects the tooth from demineralization and maintains oral homeostasis. The present study was done to compare the salivary calcium levels in children with and without ECC. Materials And Methods: It is a cross-sectional observational study conducted at Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals. Children between 37 to 72 months were examined and 15 caries free and 15 children with ECC were recruited for the study. The examination and sample collection were done by a single qualified Pediatric dentist. The samples were collected and analysed for calcium levels by colorimetric method. Results: The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference in salivary calcium level in children with and without ECC. In children with Early Childhood Caries the mean calcium concentration in samples of unstimulated saliva was z4.96 ±1.64 The mean calcium concentration caries free children were found to be 9.14± 3.5 Conclusion: Salivary calcium concentration was high in Caries free group and found to be low in children with ECC. The present study emphasize that the salivary calcium definitely influences the development of carious lesion.