The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of immunoglobulins (Ig) in whole sal... more The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of immunoglobulins (Ig) in whole saliva from patients affected by autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Twelve individuals with AIH and 12 healthy individuals without (CON) autoimmune hepatitis, aged 8-18 years, participated in this study. Non-stimulated whole saliva was collected and centrifuged. Supernatants were separated and lyophilized. Salivary pH was measured and immunoglobulins were analyzed through ELISA technique. Salivary pH (CON, 7.17 ± 0.45; AIH, 6.92 ± 0.43) did not differ between groups (p = 0.183). Measurable levels of IgG, IgA, IgM and IgE were detected on all patients. IgG levels were higher in AIH individuals (CON, 1.058 ± 0.386; AIH, 1.635 ± 0.373; p = 0.001), whereas IgA (CON, 0.915 ± 0.187; AIH, 0.995 ± 0.235; p = 0.362), IgM (CON, 0.683 ± 0.147, AIH, 0.646 ± 0.161; p = 0.561) and IgE levels (CON, 1.241 ± 0.378; AIH, 1.312 ± 0.412; p = 0.664) did not present differences between groups. The results of the presen...
The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal : official publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, May 11, 2014
Purpose : This study aimed to describe the orofacial features of 26 unrelated Brazilian patients... more Purpose : This study aimed to describe the orofacial features of 26 unrelated Brazilian patients with mucopolysaccharidosis and to verify any possible associations between these findings and specific types of mucopolysaccharidosis. Methods : Patients were diagnosed with mucopolysaccharidosis and systemically evaluated. Following consent, a clinical assessment form was completed. Facial and intraoral examination was performed by evaluating facial pattern, malocclusions, dental caries, and tooth identification. Results : Midface deficiency, increased lower facial third, anterior open bite, convex profile, macroglossia, gingival enlargement, and spaced arches were the most frequently observed features. These findings did not allow a differential diagnosis among the different types of mucopolysaccharidosis, except for pitting enamel, which significantly associated with mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (P…
ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of an associatio... more ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of an association between free salivary amino acids and Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) during early childhood. Methods: This work was approved by the Federal University of Ceara (Brazil) Ethics Committee. Seventy-five 12 70 months-old children, previously diagnosed with PEM, were selected to participate in the study, and divided into mildly (GI, n=22) or moderately (GII, n=53) malnourished, according to WHO 2006 growth standards. Forty-seven nourished children were used as controls (GN). Unstimulated whole saliva was collected from all participants and centrifuged. Supernatants were extracted, lyophilized, stored at 80oC. Amino acid analysis was performed on a Biochem 20 plus amino acid analyzer, utilizing a high performance cationic exchange column with ninhydrin detection. Results were expressed in Mol/mL. Results: The amino acids with the most expressive mean concentrations were beta-alanine (0.6731.029), alanine (0.2520.518), arginine (0.2410.684), cysteine (0.1910.616), glutamic acid (0.3781.216), homocystein (0.2621.037), hydroxylysine (0.1940.669), hydroxyproline (0.1870.669), phospho-serine (0.4640.881) and taurine (0.5710.837). The most frequently found amino acids were alanine, arginine, beta-alanine, hydroxyproline, phosphoserine and taurine. Pearson's chi-square test demonstrated a statistically significant association between the following amino acids and nutritional status: L-alpha-aminoadipic acid (p=0.000), alpha-amino butyric acid (p=0.001), D-L-beta-aminoisobutiric acid (p=0.001), L-anserine (p=0.000), arginine (p=0.000), asparagine (p=0.006), carnithine (p=0.000), cysteine (p=0.000), cystathionine L (p=0.002), glutamine (p=0.000), histidine (p=0.004), hydroxyproline (p=0.000), methionine (p=0.000), norleucine (p=0.000), phospho-serine (p=0.001), taurine (p=0.001), valine (p=0.002). Conclusion: Our results suggest an existent association between free amino acids in saliva and nutritional status during early childhood. Thus, certain amino acids may be more frequently present or absent in the saliva of children with different grades of malnutrition.
The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal : official publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, 2018
The present study aimed to evaluate lingual frenulum in children affected by congenital Zika synd... more The present study aimed to evaluate lingual frenulum in children affected by congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) and to analyze the association of lingual frenulum phenotypes with other variables. This present work had a cross-sectional, descriptive study design. This study was carried out in Fortaleza (Brazil). The health professionals provided tertiary level of care. Data collection occurred during a multidisciplinary task force for evaluating infants affected by CZS in December 2 to 3, 2016. Fifty-four patients with CZS (1-12 months old; 32 girls and 22 boys) were recruited from a population of 70 infants. A multidisciplinary group comprised of speech-language pathologist/audiologists and pediatric dentists evaluated all patients through an intraoral examination and a specific tongue maneuver protocol for infants. Lingual frenulum visibility was the primary outcome measure. Before initiating the study, we hypothesized that children with CZS had an absent lingual frenulum. Lingual fren...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal susceptibility of Candida spp. recovered fro... more The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal susceptibility of Candida spp. recovered from tortoises (Chelonoidis spp.) and sea turtles (Chelonia mydas, Caretta caretta, Lepidochelys olivacea, Eretmochelys imbricata). For this purpose, material from the oral cavity and cloaca of 77 animals (60 tortoises and 17 sea turtles) was collected. The collected specimens were seeded on 2 % Sabouraud dextrose agar with chloramphenicol, and the identification was carried out by morphological and biochemical methods. Sixty-six isolates were recovered from tortoises, out of which 27 were C. tropicalis, 27 C. famata, 7 C. albicans, 4 C. guilliermondii and 1 C. intermedia, whereas 12 strains were obtained from sea turtles, which were identified as Candida parapsilosis (n = 4), Candida guilliermondii (n = 4), Candida tropicalis (n = 2), Candida albicans (n = 1) and Candida intermedia (n = 1). The minimum inhibitory concentrations for amphotericin B, itraconazole and fluconazole ranged from 0...
The aim of this study was to characterize the yeast microbiota of natural cavities of manatees ke... more The aim of this study was to characterize the yeast microbiota of natural cavities of manatees kept in captivity in Brazil. Sterile swabs from the oral cavity, nostrils, genital opening, and rectum of 50 Trichechus inunguis and 26 Trichechus manatus were collected. The samples were plated on Sabouraud agar with chloramphenicol and incubated at 25 °C for 5 days. The yeasts isolated were phenotypically identified by biochemical and micromorphological tests. Overall, 141 strains were isolated, of which 112 were from T. inunguis (Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis sensu stricto, Candida orthopsilosis, Candida metapsilosis, Candida guilliermondii, Candida pelliculosa, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata, Candida famata, Candida krusei, Candida norvegensis, Candida ciferri, Trichosporon sp., Rhodotorula sp., Cryptococcus laurentii) and 29 were from T. manatus (C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. famata, C. guilliermondii, C. krusei, Rhodotorula sp., Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Rhodotorula m...
The aims of the present study were to isolate and identify clinical and environmental strains of ... more The aims of the present study were to isolate and identify clinical and environmental strains of Aeromonas spp. by means of biochemical tests and the automated method VITEK 2 and to investigate the presence of the virulence genes cytotoxic enterotoxin (act), hemolysin (asa-1), and type III secretion system (ascV), and also the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of the strains. From the clinical isolates, 19 Aeromonas hydrophila, 3 Aeromonas veronii bv. sobria, and 1 Aeromonas caviae were identified, while from the environmental strains, 11 A. hydrophila, 22 A. veronii bv. sobria, 1 A. veronii bv. veronii, and 1 A. caviae were recovered. The gene act was detected in 69.5% of clinical isolates, asa-1 in 8.6%, and ascV in 34.7%. In the environmental strains, the detection rates were 51.4%, 45.7%, and 54.2% for the genes act, asa-1, and ascV, respectively. Resistance to amoxicillin–clavulanate and piperacillin–tazobactam was observed in 15 and 3 clinical strains, respectively, and re...
The purpose of this study was to compare the level of apical leakage between canals filled with g... more The purpose of this study was to compare the level of apical leakage between canals filled with gutta-percha/AH-Plus (GP) and the Resilon/Epiphany System (RES), when submitted to two filling techniques. Seventy extracted teeth were instrumented and randomly divided into four experimental groups in accordance with the material and techniques used [lateral condensation and Hybrid technique (HT)] and two control groups. After 7 days in an oven (37 degrees C, 100% humidity), the teeth were immersed in India ink and cleared. Leakage was measured by the NIH imageJ program. With respect to the presence of leakage, there was no difference between the filling techniques (p > 0.05), but there was a statistically significant difference when RES was compared with GP (p < 0.05), which leaked more than RES. With RES, leakage was confined to the apical third and HT could be used to thermoplasticize RES with satisfactory results.
ABSTRACT Objective:We aimed to determine protein profile in whole saliva of children with protein... more ABSTRACT Objective:We aimed to determine protein profile in whole saliva of children with protein-energy malnutrition (PEM), and to evaluate the association of these proteins with early childhood caries (ECC) experience. Methods:Consent forms were signed. One hundred and twenty 12-70 month-old malnourished children, with and without ECC were classified as mildly (GI,n=31), moderately (GII,n=59) or severely (GIII,n=31) malnourished, according to WHO 2006 growth standards. Forty-seven nourished children (GN) were used as controls. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected from all participants. After centrifugation, supernatants were lyophilized and stored at -20o C for analysis of total protein concentration by the Bradford method, and for protein profile determination by electrophoresis in SDS-poliacrilamide gel through the Laemmli method. Protein bands were identified from the highest (protein #1) to the lowest (last protein) molecular (m.w.). Dmfs scores were calculated. Significance was considered when p-value&lt;0.05. Results:Twenty different protein bands were identified, with molecular weights ranging from 5.580.1-149.350.0kD. Three different proteins were found to be associated with caries risk. The presence of protein #5 (109.426.12kD) was found to increase caries risk (B=2.20, Wald=4.78,d.f.=1,p=0.028), while the presence of proteins #11 (43.462.22kD) and #13 (33.010.43kD) significantly reduced the risk of ECC (B=1.97,Wald=6.27,d.f.=1,p=0.012; and B=1.90,Wald=3.92,d.f.=1, p=0.04, respectively). A higher caries risk was observed in GI(B=4.04, Wald=4.29,d.f.=1,p=0.038). When comparing the total number of identified protein bands in each group, GI (5.261.83) had the lowest amount of bands, when compared to GN (6.682.12,t-test,p=0.003), GII (6.612.53, p=0.01) and GIII (6.832.9,p=0.013). No difference in the total number of bands was observed by comparing GN, GII and GIII(ANOVA,p=0.92). Conclusions:Salivary proteins play a significant role in caries risk in children with PEM. Mildly malnourished children express the lowest number of salivary proteins and are at the highest risk of experiencing ECC. This work was approved by Federal University of Ceara(Brazil) Ethics Committee and was partly funded by FUNCAP(Brazil).
International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, 2012
As dietary management during early childhood is a great barrier in caries control, there is a nee... more As dietary management during early childhood is a great barrier in caries control, there is a need for the identification of intrinsic risk factors, capable of allowing the use of a more cost-effective approach to early childhood caries (ECC). To evaluate the salivary peptide profile of children with and without ECC and its association with caries experience. One hundred and six 10- to 71-month-old children participated in the study. Caries experience was determined through the visual/tactile method, based on the number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth, and surface scores (dmft/dmfs). Whole saliva was collected for mutans streptococci (MS) detection and peptide analysis. Chromatograms from CF (children without caries experience, n = 58) and CE (children with caries experience, n = 48) saliva pools expressed different patterns. Identification of molecular masses suggested the presence of nine peptides. Three of them were significantly related with caries experience. HNP-3 (α-defensin 3) (P = 0.019) and HBD-3 (β-defensin 3) (P = 0.034) reduced the chances of experiencing ECC. Proline-rich peptides IB-4 significantly increased caries experience (P = 0.035). Age (P = 0.020) and MS counts (P = 0.036) increased caries experience; however, gender was not associated with dental caries (P = 0.877). Specific salivary peptides of CF or CE children in early childhood predispose to a higher or lower risk of caries experience.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of immunoglobulins (Ig) in whole sal... more The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of immunoglobulins (Ig) in whole saliva from patients affected by autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Twelve individuals with AIH and 12 healthy individuals without (CON) autoimmune hepatitis, aged 8-18 years, participated in this study. Non-stimulated whole saliva was collected and centrifuged. Supernatants were separated and lyophilized. Salivary pH was measured and immunoglobulins were analyzed through ELISA technique. Salivary pH (CON, 7.17 ± 0.45; AIH, 6.92 ± 0.43) did not differ between groups (p = 0.183). Measurable levels of IgG, IgA, IgM and IgE were detected on all patients. IgG levels were higher in AIH individuals (CON, 1.058 ± 0.386; AIH, 1.635 ± 0.373; p = 0.001), whereas IgA (CON, 0.915 ± 0.187; AIH, 0.995 ± 0.235; p = 0.362), IgM (CON, 0.683 ± 0.147, AIH, 0.646 ± 0.161; p = 0.561) and IgE levels (CON, 1.241 ± 0.378; AIH, 1.312 ± 0.412; p = 0.664) did not present differences between groups. The results of the presen...
The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal : official publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, May 11, 2014
Purpose : This study aimed to describe the orofacial features of 26 unrelated Brazilian patients... more Purpose : This study aimed to describe the orofacial features of 26 unrelated Brazilian patients with mucopolysaccharidosis and to verify any possible associations between these findings and specific types of mucopolysaccharidosis. Methods : Patients were diagnosed with mucopolysaccharidosis and systemically evaluated. Following consent, a clinical assessment form was completed. Facial and intraoral examination was performed by evaluating facial pattern, malocclusions, dental caries, and tooth identification. Results : Midface deficiency, increased lower facial third, anterior open bite, convex profile, macroglossia, gingival enlargement, and spaced arches were the most frequently observed features. These findings did not allow a differential diagnosis among the different types of mucopolysaccharidosis, except for pitting enamel, which significantly associated with mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (P…
ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of an associatio... more ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of an association between free salivary amino acids and Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) during early childhood. Methods: This work was approved by the Federal University of Ceara (Brazil) Ethics Committee. Seventy-five 12 70 months-old children, previously diagnosed with PEM, were selected to participate in the study, and divided into mildly (GI, n=22) or moderately (GII, n=53) malnourished, according to WHO 2006 growth standards. Forty-seven nourished children were used as controls (GN). Unstimulated whole saliva was collected from all participants and centrifuged. Supernatants were extracted, lyophilized, stored at 80oC. Amino acid analysis was performed on a Biochem 20 plus amino acid analyzer, utilizing a high performance cationic exchange column with ninhydrin detection. Results were expressed in Mol/mL. Results: The amino acids with the most expressive mean concentrations were beta-alanine (0.6731.029), alanine (0.2520.518), arginine (0.2410.684), cysteine (0.1910.616), glutamic acid (0.3781.216), homocystein (0.2621.037), hydroxylysine (0.1940.669), hydroxyproline (0.1870.669), phospho-serine (0.4640.881) and taurine (0.5710.837). The most frequently found amino acids were alanine, arginine, beta-alanine, hydroxyproline, phosphoserine and taurine. Pearson&#39;s chi-square test demonstrated a statistically significant association between the following amino acids and nutritional status: L-alpha-aminoadipic acid (p=0.000), alpha-amino butyric acid (p=0.001), D-L-beta-aminoisobutiric acid (p=0.001), L-anserine (p=0.000), arginine (p=0.000), asparagine (p=0.006), carnithine (p=0.000), cysteine (p=0.000), cystathionine L (p=0.002), glutamine (p=0.000), histidine (p=0.004), hydroxyproline (p=0.000), methionine (p=0.000), norleucine (p=0.000), phospho-serine (p=0.001), taurine (p=0.001), valine (p=0.002). Conclusion: Our results suggest an existent association between free amino acids in saliva and nutritional status during early childhood. Thus, certain amino acids may be more frequently present or absent in the saliva of children with different grades of malnutrition.
The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal : official publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, 2018
The present study aimed to evaluate lingual frenulum in children affected by congenital Zika synd... more The present study aimed to evaluate lingual frenulum in children affected by congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) and to analyze the association of lingual frenulum phenotypes with other variables. This present work had a cross-sectional, descriptive study design. This study was carried out in Fortaleza (Brazil). The health professionals provided tertiary level of care. Data collection occurred during a multidisciplinary task force for evaluating infants affected by CZS in December 2 to 3, 2016. Fifty-four patients with CZS (1-12 months old; 32 girls and 22 boys) were recruited from a population of 70 infants. A multidisciplinary group comprised of speech-language pathologist/audiologists and pediatric dentists evaluated all patients through an intraoral examination and a specific tongue maneuver protocol for infants. Lingual frenulum visibility was the primary outcome measure. Before initiating the study, we hypothesized that children with CZS had an absent lingual frenulum. Lingual fren...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal susceptibility of Candida spp. recovered fro... more The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal susceptibility of Candida spp. recovered from tortoises (Chelonoidis spp.) and sea turtles (Chelonia mydas, Caretta caretta, Lepidochelys olivacea, Eretmochelys imbricata). For this purpose, material from the oral cavity and cloaca of 77 animals (60 tortoises and 17 sea turtles) was collected. The collected specimens were seeded on 2 % Sabouraud dextrose agar with chloramphenicol, and the identification was carried out by morphological and biochemical methods. Sixty-six isolates were recovered from tortoises, out of which 27 were C. tropicalis, 27 C. famata, 7 C. albicans, 4 C. guilliermondii and 1 C. intermedia, whereas 12 strains were obtained from sea turtles, which were identified as Candida parapsilosis (n = 4), Candida guilliermondii (n = 4), Candida tropicalis (n = 2), Candida albicans (n = 1) and Candida intermedia (n = 1). The minimum inhibitory concentrations for amphotericin B, itraconazole and fluconazole ranged from 0...
The aim of this study was to characterize the yeast microbiota of natural cavities of manatees ke... more The aim of this study was to characterize the yeast microbiota of natural cavities of manatees kept in captivity in Brazil. Sterile swabs from the oral cavity, nostrils, genital opening, and rectum of 50 Trichechus inunguis and 26 Trichechus manatus were collected. The samples were plated on Sabouraud agar with chloramphenicol and incubated at 25 °C for 5 days. The yeasts isolated were phenotypically identified by biochemical and micromorphological tests. Overall, 141 strains were isolated, of which 112 were from T. inunguis (Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis sensu stricto, Candida orthopsilosis, Candida metapsilosis, Candida guilliermondii, Candida pelliculosa, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata, Candida famata, Candida krusei, Candida norvegensis, Candida ciferri, Trichosporon sp., Rhodotorula sp., Cryptococcus laurentii) and 29 were from T. manatus (C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. famata, C. guilliermondii, C. krusei, Rhodotorula sp., Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Rhodotorula m...
The aims of the present study were to isolate and identify clinical and environmental strains of ... more The aims of the present study were to isolate and identify clinical and environmental strains of Aeromonas spp. by means of biochemical tests and the automated method VITEK 2 and to investigate the presence of the virulence genes cytotoxic enterotoxin (act), hemolysin (asa-1), and type III secretion system (ascV), and also the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of the strains. From the clinical isolates, 19 Aeromonas hydrophila, 3 Aeromonas veronii bv. sobria, and 1 Aeromonas caviae were identified, while from the environmental strains, 11 A. hydrophila, 22 A. veronii bv. sobria, 1 A. veronii bv. veronii, and 1 A. caviae were recovered. The gene act was detected in 69.5% of clinical isolates, asa-1 in 8.6%, and ascV in 34.7%. In the environmental strains, the detection rates were 51.4%, 45.7%, and 54.2% for the genes act, asa-1, and ascV, respectively. Resistance to amoxicillin–clavulanate and piperacillin–tazobactam was observed in 15 and 3 clinical strains, respectively, and re...
The purpose of this study was to compare the level of apical leakage between canals filled with g... more The purpose of this study was to compare the level of apical leakage between canals filled with gutta-percha/AH-Plus (GP) and the Resilon/Epiphany System (RES), when submitted to two filling techniques. Seventy extracted teeth were instrumented and randomly divided into four experimental groups in accordance with the material and techniques used [lateral condensation and Hybrid technique (HT)] and two control groups. After 7 days in an oven (37 degrees C, 100% humidity), the teeth were immersed in India ink and cleared. Leakage was measured by the NIH imageJ program. With respect to the presence of leakage, there was no difference between the filling techniques (p > 0.05), but there was a statistically significant difference when RES was compared with GP (p < 0.05), which leaked more than RES. With RES, leakage was confined to the apical third and HT could be used to thermoplasticize RES with satisfactory results.
ABSTRACT Objective:We aimed to determine protein profile in whole saliva of children with protein... more ABSTRACT Objective:We aimed to determine protein profile in whole saliva of children with protein-energy malnutrition (PEM), and to evaluate the association of these proteins with early childhood caries (ECC) experience. Methods:Consent forms were signed. One hundred and twenty 12-70 month-old malnourished children, with and without ECC were classified as mildly (GI,n=31), moderately (GII,n=59) or severely (GIII,n=31) malnourished, according to WHO 2006 growth standards. Forty-seven nourished children (GN) were used as controls. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected from all participants. After centrifugation, supernatants were lyophilized and stored at -20o C for analysis of total protein concentration by the Bradford method, and for protein profile determination by electrophoresis in SDS-poliacrilamide gel through the Laemmli method. Protein bands were identified from the highest (protein #1) to the lowest (last protein) molecular (m.w.). Dmfs scores were calculated. Significance was considered when p-value&lt;0.05. Results:Twenty different protein bands were identified, with molecular weights ranging from 5.580.1-149.350.0kD. Three different proteins were found to be associated with caries risk. The presence of protein #5 (109.426.12kD) was found to increase caries risk (B=2.20, Wald=4.78,d.f.=1,p=0.028), while the presence of proteins #11 (43.462.22kD) and #13 (33.010.43kD) significantly reduced the risk of ECC (B=1.97,Wald=6.27,d.f.=1,p=0.012; and B=1.90,Wald=3.92,d.f.=1, p=0.04, respectively). A higher caries risk was observed in GI(B=4.04, Wald=4.29,d.f.=1,p=0.038). When comparing the total number of identified protein bands in each group, GI (5.261.83) had the lowest amount of bands, when compared to GN (6.682.12,t-test,p=0.003), GII (6.612.53, p=0.01) and GIII (6.832.9,p=0.013). No difference in the total number of bands was observed by comparing GN, GII and GIII(ANOVA,p=0.92). Conclusions:Salivary proteins play a significant role in caries risk in children with PEM. Mildly malnourished children express the lowest number of salivary proteins and are at the highest risk of experiencing ECC. This work was approved by Federal University of Ceara(Brazil) Ethics Committee and was partly funded by FUNCAP(Brazil).
International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, 2012
As dietary management during early childhood is a great barrier in caries control, there is a nee... more As dietary management during early childhood is a great barrier in caries control, there is a need for the identification of intrinsic risk factors, capable of allowing the use of a more cost-effective approach to early childhood caries (ECC). To evaluate the salivary peptide profile of children with and without ECC and its association with caries experience. One hundred and six 10- to 71-month-old children participated in the study. Caries experience was determined through the visual/tactile method, based on the number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth, and surface scores (dmft/dmfs). Whole saliva was collected for mutans streptococci (MS) detection and peptide analysis. Chromatograms from CF (children without caries experience, n = 58) and CE (children with caries experience, n = 48) saliva pools expressed different patterns. Identification of molecular masses suggested the presence of nine peptides. Three of them were significantly related with caries experience. HNP-3 (α-defensin 3) (P = 0.019) and HBD-3 (β-defensin 3) (P = 0.034) reduced the chances of experiencing ECC. Proline-rich peptides IB-4 significantly increased caries experience (P = 0.035). Age (P = 0.020) and MS counts (P = 0.036) increased caries experience; however, gender was not associated with dental caries (P = 0.877). Specific salivary peptides of CF or CE children in early childhood predispose to a higher or lower risk of caries experience.
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