Associations of early childhood caries with salivary beta defensin-3 and childhood anemia: a case-control study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Human beta defensin-3 (HßD-3) is an antimicrobial peptide present in saliva that protects tooth surfaces from microbial attack. These peptides are part of innate immunity so levels may be affected by different systemic diseases like anemia. Therefore, anemia may predispose an affected child to an increased risk of dental caries. The objectives of this study were to determine the association of early childhood caries (ECC) with HßD-3 levels and observe the association of HßD-3 levels with childhood anemia. METHODS: A total of 80 children admitted in a pediatric medical ward, age 48-71 months, of either sex were included in the study. The included children were categorized as cases (children with ECC n = 40) and controls (children without ECC n = 40). Children were further segregated into the anemic and non-anemic sub-groups based on the hospital record of hemoglobin level. The salivary concentration of HßD-3 was measured by Enzyme-Linked Immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA). IBM SPSS version 20 software was used for statistical analysis. Two sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to compare mean values while spearman was used for correlations at p < 0.05. RESULTS: The mean Salivary HßD-3 level in cases (8.87 ± 4.30) was significantly higher (p = 0.042) as compared to controls (7.23 ± 2.57). Salivary HßD-3 level in patients with caries and without anemia was highest (10.80 ± 4.50) whereas salivary HßD-3 level in the presence of caries and anemia was lowest (6.94 ± 3.13) amongst all groups. This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Salivary HßD-3 level was found to be moderately correlated with cases (p = 0.002). An inverse correlation was found between salivary HßD-3 level and anemia (r = -0.479, p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Anemia may affect the innate immunity of children, and may result in a decreased level of salivary HßD3, thus increasing vulnerability to decay.