Comparison of Salivary Uric Acid Level among Healthy Individuals without Periodontitis with that of Smokers and Non-smokers with Periodontitis

Objectives: Antioxidative defense system of saliva with various molecules and enzymes has gained importance. Uric acid contributes approximately 70-85% antioxidative capacity of saliva of healthy as well as periodontally compromised individuals. Aim: Purpose of this study was to estimate and compare the salivary uric acid level of healthy individuals and that of smokers and non-smokers with periodontitis. Materials and Methods: Unstimulated whole saliva samples were collected from 30 subjects divided into three groups (10 healthy without periodontitis; 10 smokers with periodontitis, and 10 non-smokers with periodontitis) by employing exclusion criteria. The salivary uric acid level was measured by the enzymatic method. All values were reported as mean and standard deviations. Differences in mean salivary uric acid levels between the three groups were compared by Analysis of variance test and Scheffe’s multiple comparison tests. The level of significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. Results: Mean salivary uric acid levels of 5.39 ± 1.49 mg/dl, 3.01 ± 0.68 mg/dl, and 2.00 ± 0.57 mg/dl were observed among periodontally healthy, non-smokers with periodontitis, and smokers with periodontitis groups, respectively. Significantly higher mean salivary uric acid levels in periodontally healthy group was observed as compared to smoker and non-smoker groups with periodontitis (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Salivary uric acid levels reduced significantly among smoker and non-smoker periodontitis patients compared to periodontally healthy individuals. Therefore, uric acid level in saliva could be a helpful estimator of the oxidative stress produced by smoking and periodontitis.