Analysis of interleukin-10 anti-inflammatory cytokines in salivary lymphocyte surface: A cross sectional study

Aim: To analyze the expression of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in children with severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) and caries-free children. Materials and Methods: This was an observational analytic pilot study performed on children with social factors-ECC (S-ECC), and caries-free children as the objects of research with a cross-sectional study design. Saliva of children aged 4-6 years from the group of caries children in severe and caries-free early childhood was taken. Samples were taken by rinsing with 1.5% sterile NaCl for 30s and then accommodated in a sterile tube, to get a 40 mL sample from the aforementioned procedure repeated four times. Flow-cytometry test was used to analyze the IL-10 expression. The results of the study were analyzed using the normality test using Shapiro-Wilk, then continued with t test using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software program, version 20.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). The data were analyzed by independent t test to see the difference between caries-free children and S-ECC. Results: The expression of IL-10 in the saliva of children with severe ECC was 3.32 ± 0.79; meanwhile, in caries-free children it was 4.04 ± 0.65. Conclusion: The IL-10 expression in children with severe ECC was significantly lower than that of in caries-free children.