Estimation of Salivary Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) in Children With Early Childhood Caries

Aim: To assess the heat shock protein levels in children with early childhood caries (ECC) and to compare its levels before and after caries control procedure. Method: 36 children who visited the department of Pediatric and Preventive dentistry and the school dental clinic associated with the department who fit in the inclusion criteria were divided into three group of 12 each. Group 1 was caries free children, group 2 and group 3 were mild to moderate and severe ECC group respectively. Saliva samples were collected pre and post caries control and were analysed for heat shock protein 70 levels. The results were statistically analysed. Results: The mean value of the salivary Hsp70 levels estimated in the control group of children was 5988.88 pg/ml (±358.613 pg/ml). Similarly, mean values for the pre-treatment salivary Hsp70 levels estimated in the mild to moderate ECC and S-ECC study groups were 5419.97 pg/ml (±159.472 pg/ml) and 5982.99 pg/ml (±610.675 pg/ml), respectively. The post-treatment salivary Hsp70 levels estimated in the mild to moderate ECC and S-ECC study groups were 5148.34 pg/ml (±365.063 pg/ml) and 5240.55 pg/ml (±257.023 pg/ ml) respectively. Intra-group comparison between the pre-treatment and post-treatment salivary Hsp70 values in the mild to moderate ECC study group showed a statistically significant reduction. The intra-group comparison between the pre-treatment and post-treatment salivary Hsp70 values in the S-ECC study group also showed a statistically significant reduction. Comparisons showed statistically significant difference between control and mild to moderate ECC groups, and between mild to moderate ECC and S-ECC groups, but not between control and S-ECC groups. Conclusion: With the available evidence and the results obtained in our study, it is safe to assume that levels of salivary Hsp70 can be used as an indicator for dental treatment prognosis and evaluation of efficacy of newer treatment protocols in children.