EC Dental Science

Background: Saliva, gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), and serum have all been used frequently to identify different periodontal disease markers; however, for children, saliva sampling is the most recommended method because it is much more convenient and tolerable for the patient. Furthermore, since entire saliva is a collection of samples containing contributions from every periodontal locations, evaluation of indicators in saliva may provide a comprehensive evaluation of an illness status as compared with site-specific GCF analysis. With this background the aim of our study was to investigate the association between salivary contents and dental caries in children with uncontrolled type-1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM).

Methods: We searched 4 different electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCO from inception till June 2023. The following search strategy was used for all the databases “Saliva OR Salivary” AND “type 1 Diabetes Mellitus” OR “T1DM” OR “Diabetes Mellitus type 1” AND “Child” OR “Children” OR “pediatric”. Our search strategy was comprehensive, with no restrictions on settings, design, or publication date.

Results: Six studies were included in our systematic review after screening. A study reported that there was decreased levels of salivary lipids, and total proteins in diabetic individuals without association between them and the periodontal health, but there was increased gingival inflammation. However, one study found that people with T1DM had considerably higher salivary triglycerides and cholesterol. In these kids, there was a noteworthy correlation between salivary triglycerides and dental caries. According to a report, the diabetic subjects' glycemic status has an impact on their salivary pH, periodontal probing depths, buffering ability, and peroxidase production.

Levels of salivary alkaline phosphatase have been shown to be a helpful indicator of children with uncontrolled T1DMwhen it comes to their periodontal health.

Conclusion: This study shows that salivary contents can be used as biomarkers of periodontal health status in T1DM children which includes lipids, alkaline phosphatase, protein content and the characteristics of this saliva such as pH, buffering capacity, and antioxidant activity. However, further studies are required to validate our findings.

 Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus; Saliva; Biomarkers; Children

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