[ Immunoelectrophoretic study of salivary proteins]

The proteins in saliva samples from 60 individuals (subdivided into three age groups) were analysed immuno-electrophoretically to reveal possible relationships with periodontal disease and caries. No such relationship was established with regard to caries. In subjects with periodontal inflammation transferrin and haptoglobin were twice as frequent as in control individuals, which is indicative of a correlation with the inflammatory process. Multiple IgA and IgG bands were detected in saliva samples from elderly subjects. Incidentally, IgM was absent in saliva samples from 10-year-old children, which was in contrast to the results obtained for serum samples.