Salivary Nitric Oxide Levels before and after Treating Caries in Children: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Objective: To assess salivary nitric oxide (NO) levels in children with caries at baseline before treatment and compare salivary NO levels before treatment and after 15 and 30 days of the treatment. Study design: The saliva sample was collected from a total of 31 children with caries aged between 6 and 12 years. NO levels were estimated in children with caries before and after treatment using Griess reaction. Decayed teeth in permanent dentition (DT) and and decayed teeth in primary dentition (dt) scores, pretreatment NO levels were recorded at the baseline. After completing the treatment, posttreatment NO levels were compared at 15 and 30 days using paired t-tests. Mann–Whitney U test was used for comparing NO levels with both genders. Further, the correlation of NO with age and dental caries was estimated using the Spearman correlation test. Results: A significant increase in salivary NO levels was found in children after treatment (p < 0.001). No significant correlation was found between NO, age, gender, and DT and dt scores. Conclusion: Higher levels of NO were associated with low caries experience. Clinical significance: The salivary NO in children is of higher diagnostic values as it can be used in caries risk assessment.