Gingival disease and secretory immunoglobulin a in non-stimulated saliva in children.

AIM To find the relationship of secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) to gingival diseases in childhood and adolescence by quantitative study of these antibodies in non-stimulated saliva. PATIENTS AND METHODS The survey included 30 somatically healthy children (mean age 15.37 +/- 1.06 yrs) with clinically healthy gingiva and another 30 children (somatically healthy) (mean age 15.07 +/- 0.69 yrs) with manifested plaque-induced gingivitis. The diagnosis of periodontal status was made on the basis of clinical criteria, the oral-hygiene index of Silness & Loe, the papilla bleeding index (PBI) of Saxer & Mulheman and the periodontal screening index for evaluation--Periodontal Screening and Registration (PSR, after ADA--American Dental Association). SIgA in saliva was quantified by ELISA with salivary secretory IgA kit of SalimetricsLLC--USA. RESULTS In children with gingivitis the mean SIgA was 41.07 +/- 32.14 microg/ml; it was higher in healthy children - 48.3 +/- 32.41 microg/ml. A correlation was found between SIgA and the oral-hygiene index of Silness & Loe, (P < 0.05) and lack of dependence on the degree of gingival bleeding. CONCLUSIONS SIgA is a factor characterizing the local specific immunity which depends on local antigenic stimuli (plaque biofilm), but it does not affects the gingival pathology directly. SIgA can be considered an important part of an integrated assessment of oral risk environments.