School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatian Dental Society - Croatian Medical Association
Abstract
Svrha: Zubni je karijes infektivna bolest uzrokovana bakterijama, a ima veliku incidenciju u državama u razvoju. Važni čimbenici u njegovu nastanku mogli bi biti sastavni dijelovi salivarnog obrambenog sustava, kao na primjer organske i anorganske komponente u slini. Posljednjih godina sve je veće zanimanje za istraživanje utjecaja nitrata i nitrita u zaštiti od oralnih bolesti. Svrha ove studije bila je odrediti odnos između koncentracije NO-a u nestimuliranoj i stimuliranoj slini djece s niskim i visokim rizikom za karijes. Ispitanici i postupci: U sklopu studije ispitano je 123 djece s trajnom denticijom (srednja starost 13±0,3). Ovisno o indeksu DMFT-a sudionici su bili podijeljeni u skupinu niskoga karijesnog rizika (51 ispitanik) i visokoga karijesnog rizika (72 ispitanika). Od svakoga su bila uzeta dva uzorka – nestimulirana i stimulirana slina. Nakon toga se metodom Griessove reakcije mjerila koncentracija dušikova oksida te ukupni nitrati i nitriti. Rezultati. Rezultati studije pokazuju da je prisutnost dušikova oksida i njegovih metabolita u slini djece s prirodno zdravim zubima znatno viša u odnosu prema skupini visokog rizika, što ističe zaštitnu ulogu NO-a u odnosu prema karijesu. Zaključak: Veliko povećanje nitrata i nitrita u stimuliranoj slini kod skupine visokoga karijesnog rizika mogao bi biti odgovor organizma u sprječavanju bakterijskog rasta zbog indukcije sustava NO-a u žlijezdama slinovnicama. Dosadašnji rezultati podupiru tezu o dušikovu oksidu kao modulatoru bakterijske proliferacije i sugeriraju da povećani NO može kod djece pridonijeti nižoj incidenciji karijesa.Purpose: Dental caries is an infectious process, caused by bacteria, with an increasing incidence in developing countries. The significant factors in caries could be the elements of salivary defense system, i.e. organic and inorganic compounds present in saliva. The last years there has been a growing interest in the role of nitrates and nitrites in protection against oral diseases. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between NO concentration in unstimulated and stimulated saliva of children with low and high caries risk. Material and Methods: The study group consisted of 123 children with permanent dentition (the mean age 13.4±0.3). According to DFMT index, the subjects were divided into low (51 subjects) and high caries risk group (72 subjects). Two saliva samples were taken from each subject – unstimulated and stimulated one. Nitric oxide concentration was measured as total nitrates and nitrites by the Griess reaction method. Results: The results of this study show that the presence of NO and its metabolites in saliva of children with natural healthy teeth is significantly higher compared to high risk group, suggesting the protective role of NO in relation to caries. Conclusions: The highly significant increase of nitrates and nitrites in stimulated saliva of high caries risk group could be the host defense response opposing bacterial growth, due to induction of iNOS in salivary glands. The obtained results support the role of NO as modulator of bacterial proliferation and suggest that increased NO production might contribute to lower caries incidence in children
