Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Sep-Oct;13(5):527-538.
doi: 10.1016/j.jobcr.2023.05.011. Epub 2023 Jun 17.

Physical and chemical properties of saliva and its role in Early Childhood caries - A systematic review and meta-analysis

Affiliations

Physical and chemical properties of saliva and its role in Early Childhood caries - A systematic review and meta-analysis

Dhanalakshmi Ravikumar et al. J Oral Biol Craniofac Res. 2023 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Background: Early Childhood Caries is a chronic disease of childhood and salivary parameters are considered as one of the prime etiological factors of Early Childhood Caries.

Aim: To develop a systematic review based on the relation between physical and chemical properties of saliva and Early childhood caries by comparing children with and without Early childhood caries.

Methods: PubMed, Cochrane, Lilacs, Embase, Scopus, and additional manual search was done up to April 2021 to identify the original cross-sectional observational studies published in English. The risk of bias and quality of the included papers were assessed based on New castle Ottawa guidelines.

Results: From a total of 1709 identified studies, only 22 articles were included in this systematic review and 10 studies were qualified for meta-analysis. Eight studies were classified as ''moderate risk of bias'' and fourteen studies were classified as ''high risk of bias''.

Conclusion: There was a significant difference in physical and chemical properties of saliva in children with and without Early childhood caries. Since wide disparity were evident in available studies, further studies are needed to arrive to a definitive conclusion.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no funding to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA Search Flow chart.
Fig. 2a
Fig. 2a
Relationship between ECC and PH.
Fig. 2b
Fig. 2b
Relationship between severe ECC and PH.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Relationship between Salivary flow and ECC.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Relationship between salivary calcium and ECC
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Relationship between salivary phosphate and ECC.
Fig. 6a
Fig. 6a
Relationship between salivary IgA and ECC
Fig. 6b
Fig. 6b
Relationship between IgG and ECC
Fig. 7a
Fig. 7a
Funnel plot for pH of ECC and Caries free children.
Fig. 7b
Fig. 7b
Funnel plot for pH of SECC and Caries free children.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Funnel plot for Salivary flow rate of ECC and Caries free children.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Funnel plot for Salivary calcium of ECC and Caries free children.
Fig. 10
Fig. 10
Funnel plot for Salivary phosphate of ECC and Caries free children.
Fig. 11
Fig. 11
Funnel plot for Buffering capacity of ECC and Caries free children.
Fig. 12
Fig. 12
Funnel plot for Salivary IgA of ECC and Caries free children.

References

    1. Edgar M., Dawes C., O'Mullane D., editors. Saliva and Oral Health. third ed. British Dental Association; London: 2004. pp. 1–2.
    1. Hicks J., Garcia-Godoy F., Flaitz C. Biological factors in dental caries: role of saliva and dental plaque in the dynamic process of demineralization and remineralization (part 1) J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2003;28:47–52. - PubMed
    1. Stookey G.K. The effect of saliva on dental caries. J Am Dent Assoc. 2008;139 11S-7S. - PubMed
    1. Lenander-Lumikari M., Loimaranta V. Saliva and dental caries. J Adv Dev Res. 2000;14:40–47. - PubMed
    1. Javaid M.A., Ahmed A.S., Durand R., Tran S.D. Saliva as a diagnostic tool for oral and systemic diseases. J Oral Biol Craniofac Res. 2016;6:67–76. - PMC - PubMed