Abstract
This study examined the relationship between the concentration of salivary agglutinin that interacts with a Streptococcus mutans surface protein antigen (PAc) and other factors that have been used to assess the risk of dental caries. The subjects were 64 students aged 20 years. The salivary agglutinin concentration was determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, the stimulated salivary flow rate, buffer capacity, number of mutans streptococci, DMFT, and DMFS were obtained. There were correlations between the salivary agglutinin level and % DMFT and % DMFS (Pearson product moment correlation coefficients : γ=0.29 and 0.25, respectively, p<0.05). These results suggest that determining the concentration of salivary agglutinin that interacts with S. mutans PAc is useful for assessing the risk of dental caries.
