Abstract

BIOMARKERS OF SALIVA: A REVIEW OF ITS ROLE IN PREDICTING DENTAL CARIES

Panchali Kashyap*, L. Vamsi K. Reddy, Ila Verma, Avnica Agarwal and Sumeet Bhattacherjee

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Abstract

Dental caries is a major public health problem globally and is the most widespread non communicable disease (NCD). Severe dental caries affects general health and often causes pain and infection, which may result in tooth extraction. The costs of treating dental caries cause heavy financial burdens on individuals, families and society as a whole. But if one can predict this multifactorial disease in its early stages, it can significantly lessen the risk of patient discomfort, pain, help in prognosis, retention rates, and reduce recurrence. One of the intra oral host factors that affect caries development is saliva. As teeth are constantly bathed in saliva, the constituents and properties of this oral fluid play an essential role in the occurrence and progression of dental caries. Saliva consists of some important naturally occurring properties or functions which act as biomarkers and help in the prediction of dental caries. This paper is aimed to compose a review about the potential salivary biomarkers of dental caries.

Keywords: Caries Susceptibility, Microorganisms, Proteins, Salivary Biomarkers.