Salivary Assessments in Post-Liver Transplantation Patients

Saliva is in the first line of the body's defense mechanism. In order to better understand how liver transplantation impacts salivary biochemistry, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore variations of salivary markers for oral health in post-liver transplantation patients, as compared with systemically healthy dental outpatients (controls). In this case, 26 patients were enrolled in each group, with similar socio-demographic characteristics. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected; total protease activity and total protein content were measured. The oral health in both groups was assessed using a self-report oral health questionnaire. Data were analyzed using parametric and nonparametric tests. Comparable results were recorded in terms of salivary protein and protease activity assessments. In post-liver transplantation group, positive correlation was found between the salivary pH level and the salivary secretion rate ( = 0.39; = 0.04). With respect to self-reported oral health, there were no significant differences between the two groups, except for dental and oral care habits, the controls reporting more frequently use of dental floss and mouthwash ( = 0.02, and = 0.003, respectively). Considering the high risk for developing systemic complications after liver transplantation, oral health care is an important issue to be addressed, salivary investigations representing powerful tool for disease changes monitoring.