Salivary Bacterial Count and its Implications on the Prevalence of Oral Conditions

To determine the relationship between salivary bacterial count and some oral lesions.

This research was designed as a cross- sectional study assessing the mean bacterial count in the saliva of Nigerians in Ile-Ife who has no history of medical illness. Subjects were randomly selected from consenting staffs and students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Oral examinations were done and their saliva collected using spitting method. The bacterial count was determined in the laboratory by culture the bacteria after which the counting was done using colony counter. Data analysis was done using STATA 13 software.

A total of sixty participants were recruited for the study, 41 males and 19 females, their mean age was 23.12+3.8 years. The mean salivary bacteria count among the participants was 8.41 × 108 + 1.06 × 109 per mL. The salivary bacterial count is highest among those with poor oral hygiene (1.89 × 109) and also increases with age. Males have a higher bacterial load compared to female. Subjects with periodontitis have the highest bacterial load and are significantly higher in patients with periodontitis in comparison with those who do not have periodontitis p = 0.03 Conclusion: Periodontitis is associated with the significantly higher salivary bacterial load. Male sex and increasing age were also associated with increased bacterial load in saliva.

This study showed another potential role of saliva as a reliable diagnostic tool to monitor the severity of oral infections. It also showed the association between salivary bacterial count and some oral lesions further substantiating the possibility of using saliva to monitor disease progression and treatment responses.