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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Pathology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1480139
This article is part of the Research Topic Genetic and Environmental Interactions in Oral Disease: Advancing Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies View all articles

Salivary Alpha-Amylase Activity and Its Association with Early Childhood Caries and Rampant Caries Experience: A Cross-Sectional Study

Provisionally accepted
Vivek Padmanabhan Vivek Padmanabhan 1*Md Sofiqul Islam Md Sofiqul Islam 1Mustahsen Rehman Mustahsen Rehman 1Manjunatha B K Goud Manjunatha B K Goud 2Latifa Majed Sulaiman Allay Alshehhi Latifa Majed Sulaiman Allay Alshehhi 1Hebah Mushref Ahmad Hamed Hebah Mushref Ahmad Hamed 1Sheela Haridas Sheela Haridas 2Dileep Sharma Dileep Sharma 3*
  • 1 RAK College of Dental Sciences, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
  • 2 College of Medical Sciences, RAK Medical and Health Sciences University, Ras al-Khaimah, Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
  • 3 The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Aims: This study aims to evaluate salivary alpha-amylase levels in children diagnosed with Early Childhood Caries (ECC) and Rampant Caries (RC) and compare them to levels in children without ECC or RC. It also examines the relationship between salivary alpha-amylase levels and increased caries activity in the children with ECC or RC.A cross-sectional study was conducted at RAK College of Dental Sciences (RAKCODS) with 100 children aged 3-12 years. Participants were divided into ECC and RC groups, each consisting of study and control groups. Salivary alpha-amylase levels were measured using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kits. Statistical analyses, including the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test and Pearson's correlation coefficient, were performed using SPSS version 29 to compare salivary alpha-amylase levels between groups and examine correlation with severity of dental caries.The study found that children with ECC and RC had significantly higher mean salivary alpha-amylase levels (16.046 U/ml and 20.62 U/ml, respectively) compared to control groups (5.09 U/ml and 12.70 U/ml). The differences were statistically significant (p<0.0001).Pearson's correlation coefficients indicated a strong positive correlation between salivary alpha-amylase levels and severity of dental caries in both ECC (r=0.9891, p<0.0001) and RC (r=0.9142, p<0.0001) groups.The study concludes that elevated salivary alpha-amylase levels, which are statistically significant, are observed in children with ECC and RC. Additionally, it was found that salivary alphaamylase levels increased with the number of carious lesions. These findings suggest that salivary alpha-amylase could serve as a valuable biomarker for assessing caries risk and guiding preventive strategies.

    Keywords: Salivary alpha-amylase, early childhood caries, rampant caries, Dental caries prevention, ELISA - enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

    Received: 13 Aug 2024; Accepted: 23 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Padmanabhan, Islam, Rehman, Goud, Alshehhi, Hamed, Haridas and Sharma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Vivek Padmanabhan, RAK College of Dental Sciences, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
    Dileep Sharma, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.