CD89/CD35 Expression Ratio in Salivary Neutrophil as an Early Detection Marker for Severe Early Childhood Caries

Objectives To analyze CD35/CD89 expression ratio on the surface of neutrophils as an early detection marker for S-ECC. Materials and Methods Saliva was collected from 4- to 6-year-old kindergarten students. Salivary neutrophils were obtained by instructing the subjects to rinse their mouth with 1 mL of sterile 1.5% NaCl for 30 seconds before expectorating it into a sterile glass. The expression of CFSE (+) CD35 (+) and CFSE (+) CD89 (+) was measured and analyzed using flow cytometry. Results The expression of CFSE (+) CD89 (+) in the caries-free group (2.46 ± 0.39) was significantly lower than that in the S-ECC group (3.41 ± 1.11), with a p -value of 0.0001, while the expression of CFSE (+) CD35 (+) in the caries-free group was (2.35 ± 0.56) compared with (1.54 ± 0.35) ( p = 0.0001) in the S-ECC group. Conclusions The expression ratio of CFSE (+) CD89 (+) and CFSE (+) CD35 (+) constitutes a marker for S-ECC.