Revista de higiene y salud bucal

Abstracto

Saliva: A Biosignature for Dental Caries

Kanchan Dhake

Dental caries curses major part of the world’s population; rectified as a widespread multifactorial disease. As saliva is frequently flowing fluid along the teeth and other oral structures; which plays a major role in developing and progression of dental caries. Some organic and inorganic components may protect teeth from the occurrence of dental caries. This occurs via several functions, such as clearance of food debris and sugar, aggregation and elimination of microorganisms, buffering actions to neutralize acid, maintaining concentration with respect to tooth mineral, participation in formation of the acquired pellicle and antimicrobial defence. Unassuming attestation is available on the associations between dental caries and several salivary parameters, including flow rate, buffering capacity and abundance of mutans streptococci. Despite some controversial findings, the main body of the literature supports an elevated caries prevalence and/or incidence among people with a pathologically low saliva flow rate, compromised buffering capacity and early colonization or high titer of mutans streptococci in saliva. Saliva has the potential to be used in the early detection and diagnosis of caries. This is due to the abundant biomarkers present in saliva.