Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026

Systematic Approach to Identify Novel Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Molecules from Plants' Extracts and Fractions to Prevent Dental Caries
Published on: March 31, 2021
Total antioxidant capacity of saliva and dental caries
F Ahmadi-Motamayel1, M-T Goodarzi, S-S Hendi
1Research Center for Molecular Medicine, Department of Oral Medicine-Hamadan Dental School, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan Iran, Iran, f.ahmadi@umsha.ac.ir.
Objective:
Dental caries is one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide. Saliva has many functions in the oral cavity and is the first line defense against dental caries. Oxidative stress can affect initiation and progression of many inflammatory and infectious diseases such as dental caries. Thus the aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of saliva and dental caries.
Study Design:
100 healthy high school students (50 female and 50 male) with age range of 15 -17 years were randomly selected, divided to four groups. Unstimulated whole saliva specimens were collected at the morning. TAC of saliva was evaluated by spectrophotometric assay. Statistical comparisons were performed using Student's t-test, by SPSS 13.
Results:
The level of TAC was significantly higher in the saliva of caries active group relative to the caries free subjects. Statistical analysis for male and female groups showed a statistically significant reduction of TAC level in female group.
Conclusion:
TAC was higher in caries active group. Thus this result showed that total antioxidant capacity may influence in dental caries and activity can be measured by salivary factors and this may be helpful in preventive dentistry.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
The Oral Microbiota
Salivary Glands and Saliva
Tooth Anatomy
The Crown, Neck, and Root
The visible part of the tooth is referred to as the crown. It's covered by enamel, the hardest substance in the human body. The crown is uniquely shaped for each type of tooth, allowing for different functions such as cutting, tearing, or grinding food.
Oral Cavity
Teeth: The teeth are the hardest structures in our bodies. Humans have two sets of teeth throughout their lifetime: deciduous (baby) teeth and permanent teeth. Each tooth consists of several parts: the crown (visible part), the root (embedded in the jaw), enamel (hard outer...
Assessment of the Mouth
Mouth Inspection
The inspection begins with visually examining the mouth for symmetry, color, and size.
Teeth
In the bud stage, the tooth germ (an aggregation of cells) starts to form in the developing jawbone. During the cap stage, the tooth germ differentiates into enamel organ, dental papilla, and dental sac, which will later develop into the tooth's enamel, dentin and...

