Impact of salivary flow and lysozyme content and output on the oral health of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

PURPOSE The aim of the study was to examine salivary flow rate, DMF index, lysozyme concentration and its output in two groups of rheumatoid patients and to compare the results with those of healthy controls. MATERIAL/METHODS Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were divided into two study groups: with reduced salivary flow rate ≤0.15 ml/min (RA HS, hyposalivation) and with normal salivary secretion rate >0.2 ml/min (RA NS, normal salivation). The healthy control group (C) was recruited from the Department of Conservative Dentistry. Salivary lysozyme concentration was determined by radial immunodiffusion. ANOVA followed by LSD test were used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS We found that lysozyme concentration was higher and lysozyme output and salivary flow rate were statistically lower in the RA HS group in comparison to the RA NS and C groups. The DMF index was statistically higher in both RA groups in comparison to the control group. CONCLUSIONS RA disease impacts negatively on oral health and salivary parameters. Hyposalivation of RA patients increases the negative influence of RA on oral health. RA patients should receive more stomatological attention.