Evaluation of salivary glucose levels and oral health status in healthy individuals: An ex vivo study

Pratheek Venkatesh Shanbhag; Mithra Hegde; Suchetha Kumari

Pratheek Venkatesh Shanbhag Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, A.B Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, NITTE Deemed to be University, Mangaluru, India
Mithra Hegde Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, A.B Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, NITTE Deemed to be University, Mangaluru, India
Suchetha Kumari Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, A.B Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, NITTE Deemed to be University, Mangaluru, India

Keywords: saliva, salivary glucose levels, blood glucose levels, healthy individuals

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, 19.4 million people in India had diabetes in 1995, and this figure is projected to rise to 57.2 million by 2025, accounting for one-sixth of the global total. Saliva is referred to as the “mirror of the body” since it functions as a health indicator in the mouth and throughout the body. Since diabetes has been declared a pandemic of non-communicable diseases, a chair-side, non-invasive, less technique-sensitive, cost-effective approach should be considered. The study evaluated the association between salivary glucose levels and oral health status of healthy individuals. After obtaining the informed consent, an oral cavity was examined per the WHO oral health status form for adults (Annexure 1). The standard salivary glucose level was measured using the O-Toluidine reagent method using a double-beam spectrophotometer. The blood glucose levels were measured using an electronic blood glucose meter. On comparison of glucose levels according to CPI score and DMFT experience using ANOVA, a p-value of 0.08 (>0.05) and 0.95 (>0.05) was obtained, which was statistically non-significant. The bivariate correlation between Salivary Glucose Level (SGL) (ug/ml) and blood Glucose Level (BGL) (mg/dl) was checked using the Pearson correlation coefficient. There was a statistically significant moderate and positive correlation between Blood Glucose Levels (mg/dl) and salivary Glucose Levels (ug/ml). Within the limitation of the study, the study concluded that there is no significant association between salivary glucose levels and oral health status of healthy individuals. However, a positive correlation exists between salivary glucose levels and blood glucose levels in healthy individuals.