Evaluation of saliva interleukin-32, interleukin-10, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alfa levels in children with EARLY childhood cari̇es

Objective: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a rapidly progressive infectious disease observed in infants and young children. Determining the risk of caries in children is very important in terms of preventing possible future caries. The role of cytokines in saliva in carrying risk, remains a topic of interest. The main aim of this study was to determine the levels of interleukin-32 (IL-32), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor- alpha (TNF-α) in the saliva of patients with early childhood caries. In addition, it is aimed to evaluate the relationship between early childhood caries and oral hygiene and nutritional habits of the patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 56 patients aged between 36 months and 71 months with dental caries (n= 28 children) and without caries (n= 28 children) were included in this study. A questionnaire evaluating the nutritional and oral hygiene habits of their children was applied to the parents of the patients included in the study. Caries status of the patients were evaluated according to dmft (number of caries in primary teeth, number of teeth/surfaces extracted and filled due to caries) and dmfs indices. In addition to this, the periodontal health of the patients was determined using the plaque index and the gingival index. IL-32, IL-10, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in the saliva samples of the patients were measured by ELISA. Obtained data were analyzed statistically. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the oral hygiene and nutrition habits, plaque index and gingival index values evaluated in the study between the ECC group and the control group (p>0.05). The salivary IL-32, IL-10, IL-6 and TNF-α levels of the ECC group were found to be statistically significantly higher than the control group (p<0.001). The ROC curve showed that these cytokines could be good diagnostic criteria by demonstrating the optimum sensitivity and selectivity for the diagnosis of ECC. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between salivary IL-32, IL-10, IL-6 and TNF-α levels and dmft and dmfs values (p<0.05). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between IL-32, IL-10, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in saliva samples (p<0.05). Conclusion: This is the first study to show salivary IL-32 levels in children with ECC and without caries. Within the limitations of this study, the high levels of IL-32, IL-10, IL-6 and TNF-α detected in the saliva of children with ECC reveal that these cytokines may play potential role in the pathogenesis of ECC.