Abstract
Purpose: In order to achieve a comprehensive oral health assessment, a new salivary multi-test system (AL-55) has been developed. This test system can assay seven saliva analytes measuring color changes of the test strip as reflectance: [Dental caries] cariogenic bacteria, pH, buffer capacity, [Periodontal disease] blood, leukocyte, protein, [Oral cleanliness] ammonia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficiency of this system by examining the correlation between oral conditions and reflectance measured by AL-55.
Methods: Oral rinse samples (3 ml-DW, 10 sec rinse) were collected from 231-adults (40.3±12.8 y). Ten μl of the sample was dropped on each pad of the strip, and the reflectance was measured after 1 and 5 min. After collecting the samples, the oral conditions of the subjects were examined: [Dental caries] DMFT, [Periodontal disease] probing pocket depth (PPD), bleeding on probing (BOP %), gingival index (GI) and Community periodontal index (CPI), [Oral cleanliness] total number of bacteria. The correlation between the oral conditions and the reflectance was assessed with the Spearman correlation test (p<0.01). In addition, the subjects were stratified into 3 groups (high, middle and low) on the basis of DMFT, PPD or total number of bacteria. The reflectance between the groups was compared with Tukey’s test (p<0.05).
Results: [Dental caries] DMFT was significantly correlated with reflectance of cariogenic bacteria measured by AL-55, and was not correlated with pH and buffer capacity. There was a significant difference in reflectance of cariogenic bacteria between high and low groups stratified by DMFT. In the cases of pH and buffer capacity, no significance was found between the three groups. [Periodontal disease] PPD, BOP, GI and CPI were significantly correlated with blood, leukocyte and protein measured by AL-55. There were significant differences in blood between the three groups stratified by PPD, while leukocyte and protein exhibited significant differences between high and middle groups and between high and low groups. [Oral cleanliness] The total number of bacteria was significantly correlated with ammonia measured by AL-55. There are significant differences in ammonia between the three groups stratified by the total number of bacteria.
Conclusion: This particular study revealed that the oral conditions associated with dental caries, periodontal disease and oral cleanliness were correlated with the reflectance measured by the newly-developed salivary multi-test system (AL-55). These results may indicate clinical usefulness of this system for assessing oral health.
