Salivary Secretory IgA Concentration and Dental Caries in Children with Down Syndrome

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) concentration and dental caries in children with Down syndrome (DS) and compare it with findings in non-DS children.

Methods: The sample comprised 61 DS children and 52 non-DS children, aged 6 to 14 years. Caries experience, plaque index (PI), and gingival bleeding index (GBI) were recorded. Saliva samples were collected from all children. Total salivary sIgA concentrations were determined using an enzymatic assay method.

Results: Caries experience in primary and permanent dentitions were similar in DS and non-DS children. However, PI and GBI values were significantly lower in DS compared to non-DS children. DS children had higher salivary sIgA concentrations compared to non-DS children. No difference in sIgA concentration was observed between children with and without caries experience in either group.

Conclusions: DS children have higher salivary sIgA concentrations than non-DS children. However, this finding did not correlate with caries experience in the study population.