Relationship between Salivary Alkaline Phosphatase Enzyme Activity and The Concentrations of Salivary Calcium and Phosphate Ions

Although salivary alkaline phosphatase (ALP) can balance de- and remineralization processes of enamel, there is no evidence regarding its effects on the concentrations of calcium and phosphate in saliva. The present study aims to determine the relationship between salivary ALP activity and the concentrations of calcium and phosphate in saliva. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated salivary markers in 120 males, ages 19 to 44 years. All participants provided 5 mL of unstimulated whole saliva and the level of enzyme activity as well as calcium and phosphate concentrations were measured using a colorimetric method. Data were gathered and analyzed by statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) 13.00 using Pearson correlation test. A p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The mean age of participants in the present study was 32.95 ± 8.09 years. The mean pH of saliva was 6.65 ± 0.62. Salivary parameters included average ALP activity (5.04 ± 1.866 U/dL), calcium (4.77 ± 0.877 mg/dL) and phosphate (10.38 ± 2.301 mg/dL). Pearson correlation test showed no significant relationship between ALP activity and calcium and phosphate concentrations in saliva (p>0.05). According to the results of the present study, there was no significant relation between salivary ALP activity and calcium and phosphate concentrations in saliva. However, further research is highly recommended

Relationship Between Body Mass Index, Lipid Profile and Dental Caries

Background and Aim: Dental caries is the most common infectious, non-communicable, chronic disease worldwide. Obesity and overweight are major public health problems. Both dental caries and obesity have multi-factorial etiology. The aim of the present study was to determine the possible correlation between the body mass index (BMI), lipid profile and dental caries in two groups of high-school students with active caries (AC) and no caries (CF) in Hamadan, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 118 high-school students between 15-19 years were divided into two groups of AC and CF. All clinical examinations were carried out by a single examiner. Blood samples were obtained from the antecubital vein. Lipid profile was assessed by the enzymatic method using an auto-analyzer. Data were analyzed using Stata.11 software. Statistical comparisons were made using Stu-dent’s t-test and chi-square test. Results: BMI was significantly lower in AC group than CF group (P=0.008). Males had higher BMI than females (P=0.056). CF group had significantly lower level of triglycer-ides (P=0.01), cholesterol (P=0.02) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (P=0.02) than AC group. Conclusion: Our results showed that dental caries adversely affects the systemic growth pattern, and students with dental caries had lower BMI than others. Altered lipid profile had a higher frequency in AC group. Dental caries and obesity are both multi-factorial diseases; hence, well-designed epidemiologic studies on the same age group need to be performed in the future taking into account the socioeconomic and cultural factors

Efficacy of alum for treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis

Background: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is the most common painful ulcers of oral mucosal which can cause many sufferings. Treatment of RAS often includes administration of corticosteroids, analgesics and regulators of the immune system. However, considering the side effects of these medications, even their topical application must be done with caution. Alum is used in traditional medicine for treatment of oral ulcers without significant side effect. This study sought to assess the effect of topical application of alum on aphthous ulcers. Methods: This clinical randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study was conducted on 50 females aged 21 to 27 years. Mucosal adhesive patches were prepared in two forms of basic and 7% alum-containing patches. Subjects in two groups of case and control randomly received the mucosal adhesive patches containing alum and the basic patches, respectively three times in five days. Duration of recovery, changes in size of lesion and severity of pain were recorded. Data were entered into SPSS Version 16 and analyzed using t-test. Results: The average period of full recovery was&nbsp; 7.52 days in the case and 12.2 days in the control groups; which was significantly different (p<0.001). Size of wound and severity of pain were significantly lower at one, three and five days posttreatment compared to baseline values before treatment in the case group (p<0.001) and the difference in this regard between the case and control groups was statistically significant. Conclusion: Alum can significantly decrease the size of aphthous lesions, severity of pain and expedite the recovery of patients with RAS