Nieswoiste czynniki odpornościowe w przebiegu choroby próchnicowej

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world. The action of nonspecific immune factors in saliva is aimed at preventing excessive growth of microorganisms, and not at the elimination of their specific species. The nonspecific immune factors present in saliva, such as mucins, proline-rich proteins, immunoglobins, aglutinin, lactoferrin, cistatins and lysosyme, as well as defensins, cathelicidin and histatins constitute the first defence line of the oral immune system. Their interactions and cooperation with specific immune factors have not been described in detail, however the researchers failed to confirm the correlation between the concentration of any single non-specific immune factor in saliva and dental caries susceptibility. However, one should remember that the value of DMFT index results from cumulation of the effects of carious process during the whole life and not necessary reflects caries activity at the specific time.