title: Salivary secretory IgA concentration and dental caries in children with Down syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lina N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Hashizume
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schwertner
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maurício José Santos
authors.initials: MJS
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Institute of Basic Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriana Simon
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Coitinho
authors.affiliation: Genetic Medical Service, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lavinia Schuler
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Faccini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D019140:Dental Care for Children; D003730:Dental Care for Persons with Disabilities; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004314:Down Syndrome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory
keywords: Down syndrome; dental caries; immunoglobulin A; saliva