Relationship between dental caries and saliva's visfatin levels, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidant status (TOS)

Objectives Dental caries is a multifactorial infectious disease caused by the colonization and proliferation of bacteria in the mouth. Recently, it has been reported that local antioxidant and oxidant status may play an important role in the pathogenesis of dental caries. Visfatin is an adipocytokine that enhances leukocyte activation and release of proinflammatory cytokines. In this study, our aim was to investigate the salivary visfatin levels, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and total oxidant status (TOS) in patients with and without dental caries. Methods Saliva samples were collected from 50 caries-free individuals and 115 patients with dental caries who were admitted to Selcuk University Restorative Dentistry Clinics. Saliva samples were collected based on the stimulated saliva collection procedure. Visfatin levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Spectrophotometric methods were used to determine salivary TAC and TOS. Results Salivary TAC, TOS, and visfatin levels were statistically higher in patients with dental caries compared to caries-free group (p=0.035; p=0.003; p<0.001 respectively). There was a positive correlation between caries number and salivary TOS and visfatin levels. Conclusions Findings of this prospective study demonstrated that oxidative stress may be involved in the pathogenesis of dental caries. Salivary visfatin, TAC, and TOS may be novel markers to evaluate dental caries.

Automated summary

Salivary levels of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant status (TOS), and visfatin were found to be significantly higher in patients with dental caries compared to caries-free individuals. There was a positive correlation between the number of caries and salivary TOS and visfatin levels. This study suggests that oxidative stress may play a role in the pathogenesis of dental caries, and salivary visfatin, TAC, and TOS could be novel markers for evaluating dental caries.