Flujo salival y caries radicular en adultos mayores autovalentes

Introduction

Although the role of saliva in the protection against root caries has been widely controversial, few studies have examined the association with salivary flow.

Objective

To determine if a decreased salivary flow is related to increased prevalence and activity of root caries in the elderly living in the community.

Materials and methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 332 elderly participants. Subjects were interviewed, completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, were orally examined, and donated a sample from unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow. Clinical examinations were carried out to assess prevalence and activity of root caries using ICDAS criteria. The ‘Root Caries Index’ (RCI) and percentage of Active Root Caries (ARC) were calculated. Data were analysed using the Student t test, ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis, with a significance level of .05.

Results

Salivary flow was significantly lower in women and in subjects with high drug consumption and systemic diseases (P < .05). Although neither RCI nor the percentage of ARC differed in relation to unstimulated salivary flow, they were slightly higher in people with normal stimulated salivary flow (P < .05).

Conclusion

Salivary flow does not appear to be numerically associated with the prevalence or the activity of root caries in independent older adults.