Background: Salivary osmolality reflects the hydration status of individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) necessary for an adequate unstimulated salivary flow rate.
Aim: To investigate whether salivary osmolality could serve as a potential indicator of caries risk in children with spastic CP by displaying a stronger association with caries occurrence than salivary flow rate.
Design: The convenience sample consisted of 65 children with CP aged 6-13 years old. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected using cotton roll, and salivary osmolality was measured using a freezing point depression osmometer. The children's oral motor performance was evaluated during the feeding process using the Oral Motor Assessment Scale. Caries occurrence was also evaluated according the World Health Organization criteria.
Results: Motor skills were significantly associated with caries experience. Regarding the salivary parameters, osmolality presented a stronger association with caries experience than did the salivary flow rate. Children with worse oral motor performance presented a higher rate of caries occurrence.
Conclusion: Osmolality exhibited a stronger association with caries occurrence than did salivary flow rate. This parameter, therefore, could be a potential caries risk indicator for spastic cerebral palsy children.
© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, BSPD and IAPD.