Cárie dentária e lesões cervicais não cariosas em idosos independentes: características individuais, ambientais e salivares

Abstract

Population aging, characteristic of current demographic changes, has been accompanied by greater dental preservation. Older individuals possess particularities that make them more susceptible to the development of oral conditions such as dental caries and noncarious cervical lesions (NCCL). With advanced age, the prevalence of dental caries increases, and NCCL becomes more common and severe. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of dental caries and NCCL in independent older individuals, as well as to investigate associations between salivary proteins and the presence of caries, and between NCCL and occlusal factors in two distinct articles. In this cross-sectional study, part of the data was collected using a structured interview. Dental caries and NCCL experience were determined by the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index, Decayed and Filled Roots (DFR) index, and Tooth Wear Index (TWI), collected through a clinical examination. In total, 127 individuals aged between 60 and 84 years were evaluated. The mean DMFT was 23.86, and the frequency of dental caries was 65.4%. For NCCL, the frequency of lesions with a depth greater than 1mm was 65.4%. 3D models were obtained from intraoral scanning for occlusal analysis, morphology, and morphometry of NCCL, in 53 elderly individuals, totaling 1245 teeth with a frequency of 352 (28.27%) teeth with NCCL. Saucer lesions had greater height, while wedge-shaped lesions showed greater depth. Teeth with NCCL presented a higher proportion of wear facets, intense occlusal contacts, and occlusal interference contacts. Unstimulated saliva was collected for 5 minutes to quantify flow, pH, buffering capacity, and salivary proteins through proteomic analysis performed on 80 participants. Individuals were subdivided into a group without active caries (47.5%) and two other groups with caries lesions divided by the median of affected teeth: ≤2 teeth (31.3%) and >2 teeth with active caries (21.3%). In the proteomic analysis, 665 proteins involved in innate immunity, enzymatic modulation, calcium ion activity, and cell adhesion processes were quantified. Of these, 68 proteins showed significant differences in abundance between the groups. The proteomic dataset was correlated with visible dental plaque index, radicular caries experience, salivary flow, buffering capacity, pH, and percentage of sugar intake. Through these correlations, 87 potential biomarker candidates were identified, and 19 replicated the significance of the previous analysis. Thus, the results of this study indicate potential biomarkers and individualized characteristics of elderly patients that may contribute to directing the clinical management of this population stratum.