Comparative Evaluation of Serum Iron Level, Serum Ferritin Level and Salivary Ph with Dental Caries in Children with Iron Deficiency Anaemia- An Observational Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Dental caries is one of the children's most common unmet health needs that can interfere with nutritional intake, including iron, which causes iron deficiency (ID) called as anaemia. Imbalances in the levels of free radicals, reactive oxygen species, and antioxidants in the saliva may play an important role in the development of dental caries. The level of serum ferritin indicates the iron level in the body and may be normal or high in infectious, inflammatory, or malignant diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate and compare the serum iron level, serum ferritin level, and salivary pH with dental caries in children and iron deficiency anaemia. Methods: A total number of 110 participants were considered for the study. Serum iron, serum ferritin, and pH levels were recorded. Thorough Intraoral Examination was carried out to evaluate DMFT/deft score to check presence of any decayed/missing/filled tooth. All the data was entered in a specially designed format by a principal investigator. Results: Mean Iron level was significantly higher (p=0.011) in participants with low DMFT (83.71±35.47) compared to participants with high DMFT/deft (62.02±40.21). Mean ferritin level was slightly higher in low DMFT (58.43±30.35) compared to participants with high DMFT/deft (57.89±28.05), the difference was found to be non-significant (p=0.930).In low DMFT/deft participants (6.51±0.75), mean pH values with low DMFT/deft participants were highly significant (p=0.001) compared to high DMFT/deft participants (4.76±0.52). Conclusion: There exists an inverse association between serum iron levels & dental caries; and no association between serum ferritin levels and dental caries.